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classic Al Feldstein electrocution cover; Comic Book Impact rating of 7 (CBI); EC Comics


Shock SuspenStories #1 marks the beginning of one of EC Comics' most successful experiments, originally proposed as "an 'E.C. Sampler'" combining all the publishers' genres while promising "the usual E.C. shock endings!" That mix would get shaken up over the book's run, but Shock SuspenStories remained an amazing outlet for EC to tackle controversial subjects such as bigotry, sexism, and institutional corruption. Shock SuspenStories #1 still begins with the gory (and beloved) horror story "The Neat Job," which would go on to both big-screen and small-screen adaptations. That traditional opening is quickly followed by an examination of masculinity hidden in the WWI tale of "Yellow!" There's also "The Monsters" establishing a sci-fi trope to get kiddies reconsidering their assumptions about others. Of course, those stories also feature great art from talents like Jack Davis, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, and Jack Kamen. Shock SuspenStories #1 is a true classic of pre-Code comics, and launches a direct line between Gaines' ambitious vision and his eventual testimony before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in April 1954.
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