M.D. "Worried Sick"

Perhaps the Last Thing You'd See a Comic Book Story About...

...is something that affects hundreds of thousands of people, but is rarely-discussed in public!

Writer Carl Wessler and artist George Evans tell this tale from EC's M.D. #4 (1955) in a calm, non-hyperbolic manner.
It's an example of the restraint EC was doing (and perhaps slightly overdoing) after the Comics Code took effect!

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M.D.

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MODERN LOVE "They Wouldn't Let Me Love Him"

The "star-crossed lovers from different ethnic groups" trope applies...

 ...even when when one of the lovers is a medical student about to become an MD!

But, Hispanic girl-Anglo boy relationships seem to have a particular interest for comics writers and artists...going back to the 1950s!

Both this never-reprinted tale from EC Comics' Modern Love #7 (1950) and a similar 1970s story show the woman leaving the man to avoid prejudice against her from affecting his career!

In the 1950s, it was disturbing, but in the pre-civil rights era, it was, sadly, the status quo.

In the 1970s, it was disturbing, but far less common.

In the 2020s, the resurgence of this sort of prejudice is frightening, setting America back over 70 years!
The art is by Wally Wood and future sci-fi/fantasy author Harry (Stainless Steel Rat series and Make Room! Make Room!, the basis for the movie Soylent Green!)
The scripter is unknown, but believed to be the book's editor, Al Feldstein.

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M.D.

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M.D. "Point of View"

What If a Tragedy in Your Life Could Help Someone Else...

...but you didn't know who it was?

In the 1950s, transplant surgery had a lower than 50% success rate.
It was usually considered a last resort when all else had failed.
Add that to the idea that a recently-deceased loved one would be "mutilated" or "disfigured" by contributing organs for transplant, and the emotional reaction you see in this story, done before organ donor consent cards began to be issued, is understandable!
On an artistic note: if this was the notorious pre-Comics Code EC Comics, you can bet the tale would end with the kid sitting there with empty eye sockets screaming something like "DADDY??? WHERE ARE YOU??? I CAN'T SEE YOU!!!"

And "Ghastly" Graham Ingels would've done something like this...

But, it's not, and Ingels ends up presenting a kinder, gentler, happier conclusion in EC's M.D. #4 (1955)!

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Military Medicine FRONTLINE COMBAT "Combat Medic!"

Sometimes a Dedicated Medic...

...at the front is the only person standing between life and death for a wounded combatant!

And, sometimes, no matter your dedication and determination, and even if you follow all the correct procedures, your efforts just aren't enough!

This tale from EC's Frontline Combat #4 (1952), was written by Harvey Kurtzman and illustrated by Jack Davis (both WWII-era veterans, though neither saw combat).

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EC Archives

Frontline Combat

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Which Reprints this Story!

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M.D. "Shock Treatment"

Did you know electroshock therapy was once an automatically-approved method?

But some medical professionals realized the technique had its' limits...and some "off-book" uses!

Illustrated by George Evans and likely scripted by the book's editor Al Feldstein, this shocking (sorry, couldn't resist) story from EC's M.D. #3 (1955) showed the publisher could still sneak something past the extremely-restrictive Comics Code Authority!

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PICTURE STORIES FROM SCIENCE "Fighting Germs with Germs: the Story of Vaccination and Innoculation"

This comic tale from the 1940s explains the benefits of vaccination in such a simple, graphic way...

...that even a regressive Reich-wing anti-vaxxer like RFK Jr could understand!

(Note that the Near Eastern people in the third panel are supposed to be suntanned/light brown, but colorists of the time had problems getting the correct CMY color combination!)

Written by Morris Nelson Sachs and illustrated by Don Cameron, this never-reprinted story from EC Comics' Picture Stories of Science #2 (1947) was told in a straightforward manner, taking info from encyclopedias and school textbooks and visualizing it for kids.

And, yes, that's the same EC Comics who, in the 1950s, produced...

...but, in the 1940s, were doing educational comics like this...

When the wholesome stuff didn't sell, they changed the company name from "Educational Comics" to "Entertaining Comics", took a different approach, and the rest was history!
Ironically, after the whole "comics cause juvenile delinquency" mania of the mid-1950s which almost destroyed the comic book business, EC made one more stab at doing adult-oriented, "quality" comics...

...and...

Both failed within a year!

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M.D.

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