543 – Reefer Madness

Ah, another socially relevant, moral-driven Shock SuspenStory! “… and so shall ye reap!” appears in Shock SuspenStories #10 (June 1953) and tells the tale of a young man on death row who ruminates on his life choices at the same time that his parents do. The parents’ reflect in a positive way on how they […]

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542 – Kryptonite from Bullets

In Action Comics #183 (June 1953), Luthor discovers that every bullet that strikes Superman’s invulnerable body gains the minutest trace amount of kryptonite. This results in Luthor’s henchmen wasting round after round to a confused Superman. After the bullet extraction process, Luthor distills a sample of pure kryptonite, which he then uses to pelt Superman […]

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541 – Every Little Star

In Mystery in Space #15 (June 1953), a one-pager feature called… “Mysteries in Space” shows interesting facts about… space. In this panel, they describe how it would take 2300 years to name every one of the 100 billion stars in the Milky Way. Scientists now estimate that there is between 100 and 400 billion stars […]

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540 – Manhunter from Mars

Batman and Robin meet a Manhunter from Mars in Batman #78 (June 1953). No, not that Martian Manhunter. This one’s name is “Roh Kar” and is hunting a dangerous criminal who escaped to Earth. Apparently Mars has kept its peaceful civilization a secret from Earth, though they are very familiar with Batman’s exploits. And they […]

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539 – Superboy, Back to the Future

Only a couple months after visiting the 25th century, Superboy visits the 30th century in Superboy #27 (June 1953) in a story called “The Movie Star of Tomorrow!”. This time it is thanks to an inventor working on a device that captures artifacts from the past for his museum, who snags Superboy into the 30th […]

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538 – Speed Carter, Spaceman!

Atlas Comics (Marvel) debuts Speed Carter, Spaceman #1 (May 1953). Speed Carter was a member of the Space Sentinels, which jetted around space stopping invasions and battling space pirates in 2075. Speed Carter was drawn by Joe Maneely who had a pretty distinctive style filled with action and emotion.

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537 – New Krypton?

In Action Comics #182 (May 1953), scientists on Earth detect a new planet entering the solar system. It turns out to be a perfect replica of Superman’s home planet, Krypton. So Superman goes to investigate: Of course due to the intense gravitational power of the planet, Superman has to borrow a rocket to fly around […]

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536 – Sky Girl

Remember that time Lois Lane had super powers and became a super-powered heroine until Superman put her in her place? Or that time when Lana Lang thought she had developed super powers until Superboy per her in her place? Well yet another plot permutation around this concept happens in Adventure Comics #189 (April 1953). This […]

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535 – Faced with Horror

The Vault of Horror #20 (March 1953) features a pretty gruesome cover. It depicts a man beaten to death with a sledgehammer, which appears to be taken from the story titled “Easel Kill Ya!”. By early 1953, EC was definitely pushing the boundaries of what Gaines called “good taste”.

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534 – The October Game

Ray Bradbury’s story-telling prowess makes another very memorable appearance with “The October Game” in Shock SuspenStories #9 (March 1953). I love it a lot because it’s dark and scary in ways that are completely different from other bits of horror schlock that EC comes up with because it’s about the real and true horror within […]

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