Crime SuspenStories #22

(April-May 1954)

In Each and Every Package (Table of Contents: 1)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

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

Pencils

Reed Crandall (signed)

Inks

Reed Crandall (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

crime

Characters

Bertha Cracken (Norman's wife, death); Bert Collie (game show host); Norman Cracken (villain); Sally (villain, former actress, poses as Norman's wife)

Synopsis

Norman and Sally conspire to kill Norman's wife so that they can go off and be together in New York. Sally had undergone plastic surgery to look just like Bertha and studied her voice from recordings in order to fool everyone and now it was up to Norman to kill Bertha with an axe, which he does. After flying to New York and checking in to a hotel with "his wife", the couple attend the filming of a radio game show, and are chosen as contestants, and win $3000. To their horror, they learn that a crew is back at Norman's back yard in Ohio, burying the treasure: right where Norman buried his wife!

Reprints

• in Black Magic Comics (Arnold Book Company, 1952 series) #15
• in Zombie (L. Miller & Son, 1961 series) #5 ([circa 1961])
• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #4/1994 (uke 33 1994)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #22 (February 1998)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #15 - The High Cost of Dying and Other Stories (February 2016) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Indexer Notes

Inspired by the 1939 John Collier story "Back for Christmas".

Monotony (Table of Contents: 2)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

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

Pencils

Bernie Krigstein (signed as B. Krigstein)

Inks

Bernie Krigstein (signed as B. Krigstein)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

crime

Characters

Milton Gans (bank Employee); Mr. Thrumble (bank President); Mrs. Courtright (bank's largest depositor, death); Miss Cheegan (bank employee); Mr. Dillon (villain, bank employee, death)

Synopsis

Mr. Gans is called into the bank President's office and is told that the bank's largest depositor wants to withdraw $50 from her account......and Mr. Gans is to deliver it to her. Taking the money and withdrawal slip with him, Milton arrives at the old ladie's home and is greeted in a most inhospitable way. Quickly conducting business, Gans leaves wondering why wealth was wasted on a person like her. At any rate, he takes the withdrawal slip back to the bank and has Dillon attend to it. However, Dillon decides to enter $500 on Mrs. Courtright's card in stead of $50....time after time.

Reprints

• in Black Magic Comics (Arnold Book Company, 1952 series) #15
• in Zombie (L. Miller & Son, 1961 series) #5 ([circa 1961])
• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in De overlevende en andere verhalen (Zet.El, 1988 series) (1988)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #3/1989 (uke 16 1989)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #22 (February 1998)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #21 - Master Race and Other Stories (March 2018) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Safe (Table of Contents: 3)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Marie Severin

Inks

Marie Severin

Letters

typeset

Reprints

• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #22 (February 1998)

Cinder Block (Table of Contents: 4)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

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

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed as Kamen)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed as Kamen)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

Reprints

• in Black Magic Comics (Arnold Book Company, 1952 series) #15
• in Zombie (L. Miller & Son, 1961 series) #5 ([circa 1961])
• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #5/1994 (uke 41 1994)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #22 (February 1998)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #31 - Three for the Money and Other Stories (December 2021) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Sight Unseen (Table of Contents: 5)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

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

Pencils

Joe Orlando (signed)

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

Reprints

• in Frankenstein Comics (Arnold Book Company, 1953 series) #5 (1954)
• in Mystic (L. Miller & Son, 1960 series) #64 (1965 ?)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #6/1994 (uke 50 1994)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #22 (February 1998)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #19 - The Thing from the Grave and Other Stories (October 2017) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.