July 31.
The creation of MAD would have been enough to cement Harvey
Kurtzman’s reputation as one of the titans of American comics, but
Kurtzman also created two other comics landmarks: the
scrupulously-researched and superbly-crafted war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat.
Here were finally war comics without heroic, cigar-chomping sergeants,
wisecracking privates from Brooklyn, or cartoon Nazis and “Japs” to be
mowed down by the Yank heroes, but an unflinching look at the horror and
madness of combat throughout history.
Kurtzman employed some of
the finest of the EC artists including Jack Davis ,John Severin, and
Wallace Wood, but his vision came through clearest in the dozen or so
stories he both wrote and drew himself, in his uniquely bold, slashing,
cartoony-but-dead-serious style (“Stonewall Jackson,” “Iwo Jima,”
“Rubble,” “Big ‘If ’,” and Kurtzman’s own favorite, “Air Burst”) — as
well as his vividly colored, narratively-dense covers, all 23 of which
are reproduced here in full color in a special portfolio.
“Corpse
on the Imjin!” is rounded off with a dozen or so stories written and
laid out by Kurtzman and drawn by “short-timers,” i.e. cartoonists whose
contributions to his war books only comprised a story or two —
including such giants as designer extraordinaire Alex Toth, Marvel
comics stalwart Gene Colan, and a pre-Sgt. Rock Joe Kubert... and such unexpected guests as “The Lighter Side of...” MAD artist Dave Berg and DC comics veteran Ric Estrada — as well as a rarity: a story by EC regular John Severin inked by Kurtzman.
Like
every book in the Fantagraphics EC line, “Corpse on the Imjin!” will
feature extensive essays and notes on these classic stories by EC
experts — but Kurtzman’s stories, as vital, powerful, affecting, and
even, yes, modern today as when they were created 60 years ago, are what
makes this collection a must-have for any comics reader.
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