EC - Pirate Gold (Kurtzman)

Back when I used to post more frequently on this weblog, a regular feature was a series of posts about the EC comics of the 1950s.  A listing of those posts is over here (though it looks like some of the image links are broken). Anyway, with the recent news that we're finally going to get a series of EC reprints I can really get behind, creator/genre themed rather than full issue reprints, I thought I might restart them, and see how far I can get before the new reprints start.

Pirate Gold
by Harvey Kurtzman
Two-Fisted Tales #20[#3] (1951)

The first book that the new reprint series will be rolling out will be devoted to Harvey Kurtzman's stories for TWO-FISTED TALES and FRONTLINE COMBAT, specifically those he wrote and drew himself and those drawn artists other than his regulars like Jack Davis, Wallace Wood and John Severin (usually with Will Elder), who will get their own books.  That includes this Kurtzman solo story, "Pirate Gold", an historical adventure set around 1800 about a man found drifting at sea, with only vague memories of who is. Eventually, with great anger and violence he puts it all together and jogs his memory, and heads out in search of vengeance and treasure.

Still very early Kurtzman, I'd say he hadn't quite found his voice yet (and in TWO-FISTED would really find it when doing war stories rather than adventure yarns like this). His art has advanced beyond his writing at this point, especially the layouts which have a few clever bits.