EC Comics: Murder May Boomerang – Parental Revenge

Comic books are not merely tales of super-heroics.  In fact, several publishers feature comics without mentioning an inkling of a masked vigilante.  This may seem like a new phenomenon, but stories like these go back to the 1950’s when EC Comics was producing books.  Although their inventiveness led to their demise, EC Comics shouldn’t be remembered as the publisher brought to their knees by children psychiatry.  Instead, I hope EC Comics can be remembered as the original masters of genre: Crime, Suspense, Fantasy, War, and Terror.   

Good luck finding EC Comics in the back issue bins – You’d be fortunate enough to find a pricey issue hung high on the wall of a reputable comic shop.  Luckily for our sakes, these stories are available through archives from Dark Horse, Gemstone, and Fantagraphics.  As I’ve been reading through these beautiful reproductions, I’ve struggled finding ways to reflect on their body of work.  Thankfully the Pure Cinema Podcast inspired me with their Double Feature format: Thematically pair (1) EC Comics tale with (1) Cinematic Picture.

To kick things off, we’re starting with the first tale published in Crime SuspenStories #1.  Scripted by Al Feldstein and masterfully illustrated by Johnny Craig, MURDER MAY BOOMERANG is a revenge story as cold as any.  This tale is about a son convincing his elderly father to retire after a life filled with nothing but hard work. Hoping to kick-start his dad’s stress relief, the two men go on a hunting trip in the woods. After a supply run, the son returns to the cabin finding his father beaten by an escaped convict. Hoping to capture the escapee, the two men scour the roads for the criminal last seen in hunting regalia.  Spotting the suspected man, the father comes out of his delirious trance and shouts “He’s the one!  He’s the one!”  Blind with rage, the son hits the man with his car leaving him for dead in his tracks.  Ending this tale with the classic EC twist, the father once again shouts “He’s the one!  He’s the one!”  as they drive pass another man in hunting attire in a nearby town.  

Revenge exploitation is a common staple for the cinema – However the act of vengeance is usually inspired by wrongs committed to a spouse or child.  Just like this EC tale, BLUE RUIN differs by featuring a man who retaliates for his parents.  A homeless man named Dwight (played by Macon Blair) learns his parent’s killer is being released from jail.  Leaving his sedentary life, he brutally murders the convict with a knife.  Unfortunately, some evidence is left behind leading the killer’s family back to Dwight.  To keep his own sister and nieces safe, Dwight must take down the entire criminal family before they claim their own revenge.

The acts of vengeance performed in MURDER MAY BOOMERANG and BLUE RUIN are quick but filled with mistakes.  The revenge sequences are performed in silence - One man is quickly run down by two tons of steel while the other is quietly hushed with a shiv to the head.  In the EC tale, an innocent man is pointed out by his shell-shocked father.  In BLUE RUIN, the convict didn’t murder Dwight’s parents – instead the convict was only covering for his father who actually performed the homicide.  

Regardless of why revenge takes place, it never ends well for any party involved.