‘The Whipping’ by Wally Wood

Since “elevated horror” has become a buzzy phrase, some have opined that horror has only recently taken a turn toward allegorical (and sometimes literal) explorations of social issues. Not so—since its early days, writers have turned to the genre’s terrifying tropes to shed light on real-world demons. In EC Comics story “The Whipping,” a white man tries to kill his daughter’s Mexican-American boyfriend and ends up murdering her. The story certainly threatened the status quo when it was published—in fact, EC EIC William Gaines was called before the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in 1954 to defend its value. 

Published in ShockSuspenStories Vol. 1 #14, EC Comics 1954