Vault of Horror #30

(April-May 1953)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Mad / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Split Personality! (Table of Contents: 2)

The Vault of Horror! / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig (signed)

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Hello, again!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); The Blair sisters [Amy; Susan] (villains); Ed King (villain, racketeer, death)

Synopsis

Ed King was a racketeer trying to find a way to bilk the Blair sisters out of their millions. When he saved their cat, he was invited into their home, and since both ladies liked him, he decided to pretend to be twins and marry both of them, using excuses to be away a week at a time in order to be with his other wife. Ed made a huge mistake while tanning one day, and the sisters soon discovered what was going on, and decided to deal with this bigamist. They took an axe and split him right down the middle, so that they each would have "half a husband"!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #2/1990 (uke 10 1990)
which is reprinted
• in Iskalde Grøss pocket (Hjemmet / Egmont, 1998 series) #6 ([september] 1998)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #19 (April 1997)
• in Cent pour cent (CNBDI, 2010 series) (2010) [Page 5]
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #5 - Fall Guy for Murder and Other Stories (July 2013) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Who Doughnut? (Table of Contents: 3)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! And now, it's my turn to curdle your blood.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); Danny Hughes (reporter, death); Pat (Danny's secretary, death); various Policemen; an octopus (villain)

Synopsis

Seven women had been murdered and the Police were baffled by the doughnut-shaped wounds all over their bodies, blood drained and traces of sea brine on their skin and clothing. Danny Hughes, crime reporter, was on the scene and mocked the Police for not having a suspect. The next day, Danny's secretary was murdered in the same way, and was suspected until another killing occured. Danny remembered seeing a strange figure near Pat's home, and when he saw it again, he followed it to an aquarium, and came face to face with a blood-sucking octopus!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in Gysertimen (Interpresse, 1987 series) #4 (13. september 1987)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #19 (April 1997)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4, #4, #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

Reference is made to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Refuge (Table of Contents: 4)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (spot illo)

Inks

? (spot illo)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

He could hear the footsteps more distinctly now...

Genre

horror-suspense

Synopsis

He could hear the Police chasing him as he ran inside the building, clutching the gems in his hand and looking for a hiding place. He entered a large circular room with glass enclosures all around him....then he spotted something moving behind one of the glass walls. He saw fish....so he decided to hop into the water and go under to elude the Police. It worked....until he felt a horrible pain in one leg, and looked up to see the sign hanging above the tank: PIRANHA! Quickly he was surrounded, as he felt himself being torn to shreads!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

The text story is found on the inner halves of the two pages, and EC houses ads are found to either side. One promotes Weird Fantasy #18 [], while the other side promotes, with covers, the Complete Old and New Testaments from the Picture Stories From the Bible series, Picture Stories From Science #2 and Picture Stories From World History #2.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

VK starts off his column by complaining that dealers are shipping unopened cartons of EC mags to the distributor, so he asks readers to ask their dealers for EC mags. Letters are printed from Audrey Abernathy, Hazel Wilson, George Salaita, Gary Schooley, Paul George, Michael Pecker, Frank Ray Stansbury, Carol Plumb andBill Lean. Then he lists more additions to the "Horror Hit Parade" tune list, pushes the EC Tales of Terror #3 mag and subscriptions.

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Practical Choke! (Table of Contents: 6)

The Vault of Horror! / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)

Pencils

George Evans (signed)

Inks

George Evans (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Here's a gay tale of tingling terror.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein; three pre-med students (all die); various Police officers

Synopsis

Three medical students play a series of practical jokes using actual human body parts and watching the reactions of various people. The med students roared with laughter, but then seriously wondered what would happen when it was discovered parts of a cadaver was missing, so they went to get the remaining body parts and dispose of them, not noticing a pile of coiled-up intestines that were moving toward them. The next day the Police found the body parts and the students: in a refrigerated unit with the intestines coiled around their necks.

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #2/1990 (uke 10 1990)
which is reprinted
• in Iskalde Grøss pocket (Hjemmet / Egmont, 1998 series) #6 ([september] 1998)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #19 (April 1997)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4, #4
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #30 - A Slight Case of Murder and Other Stories (April 2021) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Keywords

Coney Island

Indexer Notes

In this story are cariactures of Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein in the first panel on page 2 and in many other panels throughout the story.

Script revision (from Feldstein) and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Cover story.

Notes to You! (Table of Contents: 7)

The Witch's Cauldron! / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as Ghastly)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as Ghastly)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Well, salt my slop-stew and sling me a slug...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Judson Slack; Eleanor Slack (Judson's wife, death); Horton Cox; Simon Pitter (Cox's employee, death); Averill Minton (bank President, death); Bert Fields (bank employee); Mr. Popkin (candy store owner); Ambrose Baldwin (death)

Synopsis

Four different people receive to what amounts to anonymous poison-pen letters, each resulting in horrendous events surrounding their families or businesses. Three of the surviving four men meet together and begin to realize that all these recent events were connected by these anonymous letters, and Poppin knew the answer, for he had given the suspect, Ambrose Baldwin, a bottle of disappearing ink, and his letter had now become blank. The men then visited Baldwin...with their own poison pens!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #1/1993 (uke 6 1993)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #19 (April 1997)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #7 - Sucker Bait and Other Stories (February 2014) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

Script revision by Craig Delich, formerly Al Feldstein.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.