Description

Code of Horror: And Other Stories by John Severin

Hardcover – Fantagraphics – Jun 2022 – 248 pages

When John Severin became editor of Two-Fisted Tales, he expanded the scope of its stories beyond its traditional war stories to head off to far-flung times and places, searching for adventure. This volume collects all those stories — the EC stories that Severin had the most control over. Severin wrote and drew the title story, about an old-fashioned Southern “gentleman” who sees grievance at every turn and regularly challenges those who are less skilled than he is to pistol duels. Is it murder when a man is defending his honor?

The other tales range from action and intrigue in the Old West to exploring for a lost city in the jungles of Peru, to facing danger in the Khyber Pass, to a Cold War chiller about the “ultimate weapon,” to EC’s only Vietnam story, “Dien Bien Phu!” Plus — the complete run of Severin’s stories of globe-trotting two-fisted news photographer Steve Rampart, from the pages of Extra!. Severin was a master of detail, emotion, and reaction thanks to his precise, detailed line; it brought such realism to the page, it seems as if he is reporting from the scene.

BONUS: This volume also delves into the EC Pre-Trend era with a sampling of the work of lesser-known EC artists Lee J. Ames, Stan Ash, Ann Brewster, H.C. Kiefer, and Ed Waldman. Code of Honor And Other Stories, like its companion volumes, features extensive story notes and a Severin biography.