EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales #1

In "Conquest," Captain Alvarado arrives in the Americas on a brutal mission commissioned by the Spanish government: to subjugate the native inhabitants and seize their gold. Armed with ambition and a ruthless determination, he sets out to claim a new empire—though the land and its people may have other plans.

In "Hong Kong Intrigue!", hard-boiled investigator Gregg teams up with Carol after he rescues her from a Chinese thug, only to learn she’s hiding a dangerous secret: her father vanished after uncovering proof that East Asia’s northern rebels are being orchestrated by a foreign force. With the evidence buried in a place only her father knew, the two must navigate a web of deception and danger through the streets of Hong Kong, chasing leads that could unravel a conspiracy—before it’s too late.

In "Revolution!", Clay Hill and Hunter reunite in the Canal Zone, only to find Hunter now flying for General Bovar in the ongoing conflict. When Hill learns his old friend is now his enemy in the skies, the tension between loyalty and duty takes flight.

In "Mutiny," Captain Cutter sets sail with three crewmen who secretly plot to steal his valuable bag of diamonds. After setting him adrift with a bag of flour, the mutineers search in vain—unaware that the clever captain has already returned to reclaim his ship. When the truth comes to light, the crew's scheme unravels in a swift and surprising turn.

In "War Story!", a young soldier grapples with the weight of his first kill—only to realize too late that the enemy was already dead. Shaken and questioning his own humanity, he’s pulled into a stark, haunting tale told by his sergeant, who recounts the chilling true story of two brothers torn apart by war.

In "Jivaro Death!", slick con man Slick Charlie and his partner Smitty steal half a million dollars in uncut diamonds by killing a messenger and his bodyguard, then posing as them. With the fortune in hand and the law closing in, they make a reckless choice: cut through the treacherous Jivaro country to stay ahead—unaware of the dangers that lie deeper than any map can show.

In "Flight from Danger!", Captain Turner, an American Army intelligence officer, races against time to extract a key scientist from East Germany after the man's revolutionary hydrogen bomb invention falls into enemy hands. With the professor wounded and their escape cut off, Turner must protect Lisa, the scientist's assistant, as they flee through hostile territory—each step bringing them closer to the only hope of survival: a plane waiting in the distance.

In the early 1700s, forced into service by a brutal press gang, Jeremiah Pringle stumbles aboard the H.M.S. Confidence, where he must endure the merciless rule of the infamous Captain Bull. As the ship cuts through storm-lashed seas, Pringle’s struggle for survival becomes a test of will against a captain whose cruelty is as legendary as his command.

In "Massacred!", a harrowing wartime encounter unfolds when an American-South Korean patrol stumbles upon a field of dead soldiers—hands bound with their own shoelaces, executed in cold blood. Only one survivor remains, his trembling voice recounting a brutal deception: his comrades were murdered by a North Korean officer, then dressed in enemy uniforms, only to be mistaken for invaders and slaughtered by another group of North Koreans.

In the heat of the D-Day invasion, Pvt. Smith—a soldier often dismissed as a coward—finds himself thrust into a desperate stand against the advancing Germans, holding the line while his sergeant fails to destroy the bridge. When a Tiger tank rolls across the undestroyed span, Smith’s courage is tested in the final moments of a battle that will haunt his commander long after.

In "Colt Single Action Army Revolver!", a lone outlaw’s brutal act sets off a grim chain of fate as a loaded revolver passes through the hands of strangers, each meeting their end under its barrel. The weight of its final bullet bears down on Rufe, who faces a reckoning no man can escape.

In "Pirate Gold!", two seamen pull a mysterious man from the waves, only to find he remembers nothing—except the name Thomas Tew, a man he’s certain holds the key to a hidden casket of Spanish doubloons. As the crew sets course for answers, the man’s fragmented memories and growing obsession with the lost treasure begin to unravel something far more dangerous than gold.

In "Ambush!", a lone American soldier finds himself cut off from his unit during a brutal retreat, clinging to a superstitious belief in a lucky kewpie doll tucked in his helmet. When the North Koreans close in, only he survives—only to realize too late that the helmet he’s wearing isn’t his, and the luck he thought saved him might have been someone else’s.

In "Pigs of the Roman Empire," Decius, a hardened Roman officer, witnesses the brutal death of a slave who fought bravely in the arena—his refusal to spare the man’s life haunts him. When the Vandals threaten his outpost, Decius must lead his men into battle, but his lack of compassion may prove to be his greatest weakness.

In "The Murmansk Run!", the crew of the Bunker Hill faces the brutal challenges of a wartime supply run through icy waters, where every decision could mean survival or doom. Tensions rise when a weary seaman named Bragg, distracted by cold and fatigue, lights a cigarette during his watch—unaware that the flicker of flame could be the ship’s undoing.

In "Search!", Joe, an American-born son of Italian parents, returns to his homeland during the Italian Campaign, driven by a quiet mission to find his brother Mario—someone he hasn’t seen since before the war. Moving through the ruins of Anzio, he follows scattered clues and memories, unaware that his search has already crossed paths with the truth.

In "Enemy Contact!", a U.S. patrol under fire by Communist soldiers faces a sudden medical crisis when a young soldier develops acute appendicitis. With no time to evacuate, a medic performs a daring field operation guided by a doctor’s radio instructions, all while enemy forces close in. The tension escalates as mortar fire rains down, only to be answered by a sudden aerial assault that clears the battlefield—leaving the fate of the wounded soldier uncertain.

In "Massacre at Agincourt!", the tide of war turns on a single reckless decision. With French forces closing in and the English trapped between enemy lines and the sea, both commanders push forward—De Gascony certain of victory, the British commander unwilling to wait. As arrows fly and steel meets steel, the battlefield becomes a crucible of pride and desperation, where one man's arrogance may doom an army.

In "Chicken!", Lt. Hall finds himself caught between duty and defiance when his superior’s reckless decisions cost his squad their lives. Ordered to retrieve the fallen officer under a looming artillery barrage, Hall’s resolve is tested when the Captain refuses to listen—leading to a moment that echoes far beyond the battlefield.

In "Death Stand!", Joe and his comrades race to save a downed pilot, only to be cut off by an enemy tank that destroys one of their jeeps. With the surviving jeep carrying the pilot to safety, Joe stays behind with a satchel of grenades, ready to make his stand against the advancing enemy.

In "Old Soldiers Never Die!", a grizzled veteran named Pappy Davidson takes on the task of mentoring a group of inexperienced U.S. replacements during the heat of war, passing down hard-earned lessons the old way—through fire and survival. As the young soldiers fall one by one, only Caruso seems to grasp the weight of what it means to endure, until the war ends and he seeks out Pappy to share the news—only to find the man has died in the final battle.

In "Kill!", two enemy soldiers—one from the Allied side, one from the Axis—each steel themselves for a final confrontation, driven by hatred and duty. As they prepare to face each other in the heat of war, the moment they meet defies everything they believed about the enemy.

In "Dog Fight!", a war-weary fighter pilot named Strange flies on autopilot, his heart heavy with the belief that his love, Katherine, has moved on. When a storm rolls in and his comrade Jake radios in desperate need of guidance, Strange’s focus wavers—caught between duty and the unopened letters waiting for him back at base.