Cover: Albert B. Feldstein & Al Feldstein
The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free"Beauty and the Beach!" is a chilling tale from The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories #2, a 2022 Dark Horse release that reprints a classic story written by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein, illustrated with stark precision by Wally Wood and colored with haunting clarity by Marie Severin. When a man released after a 15-year sentence for theft reunites with the woman who vowed to wait for him, their tense meeting spirals into a moment of desperate violence, leaving him clinging to a fading neon sign that holds the key to his past. The cover, a striking collaboration by Al Feldstein and Albert B. Feldstein, captures the story’s grim, suspenseful tone.
Contains 24 stories
Beauty and the Beach!
Mary Milton (John's wife)Ginger Fullman (Percy's wife, death)Cedric Abels (publicity man)Tom Simmens (advertising director)John Milton (villain, plastics factory worker)Percy Fullman (villain)
The Bribe!
Captain DonaldsonJean Wilson (Frank's daughter)Ted (Jean's fiancee)Frank Wilson (villain, City Fire Inspector, death)Foster (villain, former City Fire Inspector)Nick Cusco (villain, Blue Swan Club owner)
Infiltration
Phil Brady (Flying Saucer Bureau employee, death)Betty Curtiss (villain, a Martian, Shaw's private secretary)Colonel Wayne Shaw (villain, a Martian, Pentagon Flying Saucer Bureau employee)
The Small Assassin!
Alice (death)David (Alice's husband, death)Dr. JeffersDavid and Alice's unnamed baby (villain, eventual death)
Piecemeal
Sidney (a naturalist)Eric (villain, Sidney's brother, Sally's lover, death)Sally (villain, Sidney's wife, death)
The Assault!
Mrs. Cartwright (Lucy's mother)Mr. Cartwright (Lucy's father)Hodges (town derelict, death)George (villain, Lucy's lover)Lucy Cartwright (villain, death)
The Arrival
Grozo (Martian)Zkorl (Martian)Spdork (Martian)unnamed Pharaoh of Egypt (flashback)Christopher Columbus (flashback)Napoleon Bonaparte (flashback)Thomas Edison (flashback)Orville Wright (flashback)Wilbur Wright (flashback)
Seep No More!
Mrs. Monahan (Finner's landlady)Irene Lauton (actress, death)two unnamed detectivesMr. Finner (villain, boarder)
The October Game
Louise Wilder (Mitch's wife)Marion Wilder (Louise and Mitch's daughter, death)HelenMitch Wilder (villain)
Came the Dawn!
Cathy Maxwell (death)Bob Amesun-named criminally insane girl (villain)
The Meddlers!
Dr. Conrad Rivers (research chemist, death)Mr. Kearns (groery store owner, death)the widow Jones (death)Jed (death)Enos (death)Martha (death)
Carrion Death!
unnamed State Trooper (death)unnamed bank robber (villain, death)
The Sacrifice
Jonathan Fielding (death)Paul Nichols (villain, witness to Jonathan's murder, blackmailer)Gloria Fielding (villain, Jonathan's wife)James Reed (villain, insurance salesman, death)
...so shall ye reap!
Murray VorheesWilma VorheesKenneth Vorhees (villain, the Vorhee's son, death)Hicky (villain, gang member)
Home Run!
Doctor Muller (atomic scientist, absorbed into a Martian)Doctor Caxton (Muller's supervisor)a Martian (villain)
Sweetie-Pie
Philip Garson (reporter for the Consolidated Press Service, death)Sally Garson (Philip's wife, death)unnamed editor of the Consolidated Press ServiceO'Hara (State Patrol officer)Eddie (Consolidated Press reporter)a Ghoul (villain)
The Tryst!
Julie Adams [aka Julie Hendricks] (a secretary)Mr. Cowles (Hendrick's employee)Mr. Farnsworth (client of Hendricks, death)Tommy (an orphan, death)John Hendricks (villain, Julie's boss and later husband)
in gratitude...
Marcia NorrisAndrew Norris (Marcia's husband)Joey Norris (war hero, the Norris' son)unnamed town MayorHank (Jeoy's Army pal, death, flashback)
The Space Suitors
Milton Griffith (death)Wanda Griffith (villain, wife of Milton, death)Donald Conrad (villain, Wanda's lover, death)
...Three's a Crowd
Della (Alan's wife, death)Andy (friend of Della and Alan, death)Alan (Della's husband)
Deadline
Phil Mason [aka Paul in the opening blurb] (newspaper editor)Annie (Larry's love interest, wife of diner owner)Stan (newspaper reporter)Mike (diner owner)Larry Grieg (villain, ex-newspaper reporter)
The Monkey
Sue Minner (drug user)Mr. Clements (Eddie's boss)Eddie's unnamed father (death)Eddie's unnamed motherunnamed narcotics officerSid Scanlon (villain, drug dealer)Eddie (villain, drug addict)
The Kidnapper
Daniel (death)Teresa (Daniel's wife)unnamed son of Daniel and TeresaFrederick (neighbor of Daniel and Teresa)
Fall Guy
Helen (Danny's girl)unnamed diamond merchantDanny Jansen [aka Brad Gilbert] (villain, hotel clerk, thief)
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Full credits
writer Bill Gaines
writer Al Feldstein
artist, inker Wally Wood
colorist Marie Severin
letterer Jim Wroten
cover pencils, inks Albert B. Feldstein
cover pencils, inks Al Feldstein
Reprints
↩ Reprints Shock SuspenStories #7 (1953), Shock SuspenStories #8 (1953), Shock SuspenStories #9 (1953), Shock SuspenStories #10 (1953), Shock SuspenStories #11 (1953), Shock SuspenStories #12 (1953)
Reprinted in Shock Suspenstories #2 (2024)
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