Frontline Combat

Frontline Combat is an anthology war comic book written and edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published bi-monthly by EC Comics. The first issue was cover dated July/August, 1951.[1] It ran for 15 issues over three years, and ended with the January, 1954 issue. Publication was discontinued following a decline in sales attributed to the end of the Korean War. The title was a companion to Kurtzman's comic book Two-Fisted Tales. Both titles depicted the horrors of war realistically and in great detail, exposing what Kurtzman saw as the truth about war without glamorizing or idealizing it.

Frontline Combat
Frontline Combat #8 (September–October 1952)
Cover by Harvey Kurtzman
Publication information
PublisherEC Comics
ScheduleBi-monthly
FormatAnthology
Publication dateJuly/August 1951 – January 1954
No. of issues15
Creative team
Created byHarvey Kurtzman
Written byHarvey Kurtzman
Artist(s)Various
Editor(s)Harvey Kurtzman

Artists and writers

Artists who contributed included Kurtzman and EC regulars such as John Severin, Jack Davis, Wally Wood, George Evans and Will Elder. Non-EC regulars who contributed included Alex Toth, Ric Estrada, Joe Kubert and Russ Heath.

Kurtzman wrote the majority of the comic's stories with Jerry DeFuccio contributing one-page text stories and an occasional regular story. The issues included writing contributions from artists Davis, Wood and Evans.[2]

Stories and themes

In addition to contemporary stories about the Korean War and World War II, Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat contained a number of stories taking place in historical settings, including the Civil War, the Revolutionary War and ancient Rome.

A series of special issues dedicated to the Civil War included issues 31 and 35 of Two-Fisted Tales and issue 9 of Frontline Combat. Although originally planned to be seven issues in total, the series was never completed. Other special issues of Frontline Combat included an issue dedicated to Iwo Jima (issue 7) and an issue dedicated to the Air Force (issue 12).

Development

Kurtzman's editing approach to Two Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat was a stark contrast to EC editor Al Feldstein's style. Whereas Feldstein allowed his artists to draw the story in any manner they desired, Kurtzman developed detailed layouts for each story and required his artists to follow them exactly.[3] Kurtzman's writing tended to have a lot less text in them than Feldstein's, which enabled the two war titles to be hand-lettered rather than machine-lettered like the remainder of EC's titles.[4] Kurtzman was also dedicated to making the stories as historically accurate as possible and, along with assistant DeFuccio, put a lot of research into each story. As a result, where Feldstein took generally about a week to complete each issue he edited, Kurtzman took approximately a month.

Reprints

Frontline Combat has been reprinted several times in the years since its demise. It was fully reprinted in a series of three black-and-white hardbacks by publisher Russ Cochran as part of The Complete EC Library in 1982. Between August 1995 and February 1999, Cochran (in association with Gemstone Publishing) reprinted the full 15 individual issues. This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in a series of three softcover EC Annuals. In 2008, Cochran and Gemstone began to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of Frontline Combat as part of the EC Archives series. One volume (of a projected three) was published before Gemstone's financial troubles left the project in limbo. GC Press LLC, a boutique imprint established by Russ Cochran and Grant Geissman, announced in a press release dated September 1, 2011 that it was continuing the EC Archives series, with the first new releases scheduled for November 2011.[5]

Issue guide
#DateCover ArtistStoryStory Artist
1July/Aug 1951Harvey KurtzmanMarines Retreat!John Severin & Bill Elder
Enemy Assault!Jack Davis
O.P.!Russ Heath
Unterseeboot 113Wally Wood
2Sept/Oct 1951Harvey KurtzmanBouncing BerthaJack Davis
Zero Hour!John Severin & Bill Elder
Gettysburg!Wally Wood
Contact!Harvey Kurtzman
3Nov/Dec 1951Harvey KurtzmanTin Can!Jack Davis
Desert Fox!Wally Wood
Prisoner of War!Harvey Kurtzman
How They Die!John Severin & Bill Elder
4Jan/Feb 1952Harvey KurtzmanCombat Medic!Jack Davis
Light Brigade!Wally Wood
Air Burst!Harvey Kurtzman
Bomb Run!John Severin & Bill Elder
5March/April 1952Harvey Kurtzman442nd Combat TeamJohn Severin & Bill Elder
Stonewall Jackson!Jack Davis
War Machines!John Severin
Big 'If'!Harvey Kurtzman
6May/June 1952Harvey KurtzmanA Platoon!John Severin & Bill Elder
War of 1812!Wally Wood
Ace!John Severin
Bellyrobber!Jack Davis
7July/Aug 1952Harvey KurtzmanIwo Jima!Wally Wood
The Landing!John Severin & Bill Elder
The Caves!John Severin
Mopping Up!Jack Davis
8Sept/Oct 1952Harvey KurtzmanThunderjet!Alex Toth
Caesar!Wally Wood
Chickamauga!Jack Davis
Night Patrol!John Severin & Bill Elder
9Nov/Dec 1952Harvey KurtzmanAbe Lincoln!Jack Davis
First Shot!John Severin & Bill Elder
Choose Sides!Wally Wood
Bull Run!John Severin
10Jan/Feb 1953John Severin & Bill ElderA Baby!Wally Wood
Geronimo!John Severin & Bill Elder
Napoleon!George Evans
Anzio!Jack Davis
11March/April 1953Jack DavisBird-Dogs!John Severin & Bill Elder
Rough Riders!Ric Estrada
Lufbery!George Evans
Sailor!Jack Davis
12May/June 1953Jack DavisF-94!George Evans
F-86 Sabre Jet!Alex Toth
B-26 Invader!Jack Davis
H-5Wally Wood
13July/Aug 1953Wally WoodPantherjet!Jack Davis
War Dance!John Severin
Wolf!Wally Wood
Frank Luke!George Evans
14Oct 1953Wally WoodAlbatross!Wally Wood
Bonhomme Richard!Joe Kubert
Immelman!George Evans
Whupped!Jack Davis
15Jan 1954Wally WoodPerimeter!Wally Wood
McCudden!George Evans
Vengeful Sioux!Jack Davis
Belts N' Celts!John Severin

References
  1. Schelly, William (2013). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 9781605490540.
  2. Von Bernewitz, Fred and Geissman, Grant. Tales of Terror: The EC Companion (Gemstone Publishing, Fantagraphics Books, Timonium, Maryland and Seattle, Washington, 2000) p. 150-3
  3. Diehl, Digby Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives (St. Martin's Press, New York, NY 1996) p. 52
  4. Diehl, Digby Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives (St. Martin's Press, New York, NY 1996) p. 46
  5. Michael Kronenberg posting at MarvelMasterworksFansite.Yuku.com, September 1, 2011. Accessed September 2, 2011

Works cited
  • Goulart, Ron. Great American Comic Books. Publications International, Ltd., 2001. ISBN 0-7853-5590-1.
  • Overstreet, Robert M.. Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. House of Collectibles, 2004.
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