Choke Gasp! The Best of 75 Years of EC Comics

(2019)

[Hand rising out of a grave] (Table of Contents: 1)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

?

Inks

?

[Carrion Death splash] (Table of Contents: 2)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the first panel of "Carrion Death".

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3)

credits, title page / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Images of the Crypt-Keeper and a vampire like person leading a boy, along with title page and book credits.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4)

table of contents / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Table of Contents with a small image by Kurtzman of a soldier being shot.

Introduction (Table of Contents: 5)

foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Grant Geissman

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The EC Archives is an effort to preserve...

Indexer Notes

Rundown of the history of EC Ccomics, with an uncredited image.

Johnny Craig (Table of Contents: 6)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig

Inks

Johnny Craig

Letters

Johnny Craig

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Johnny Craig, with a black and white image from the splash of "Whirlpool".

[Crying Woman] (Table of Contents: 7)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig

Inks

Johnny Craig

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Color image from the splash of "Whirlpool".

Voodoo Vengeance! (Table of Contents: 8)

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

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Colors

Carlos Badilla (sourced)

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Welcome, once again, to the Vault of Horror!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault Keeper (host); Caleb Standish; antique store owner; Sally Standish (death); Don (Sally's lover)

Synopsis

Caleb visits an antique store to get a gift for his wife Sally. The weird proprietor eventually interests him in a voodoo doll made in Sally's image after Caleb sees Sally with her lover. Caleb confronts Sally about her lover, and a fight takes place. In her rage, Sally grabs the doll and throws it at Caleb; he ducks and it smashes against the back wall of the fireplace and the pieces are consumed by the fire. And what of Sally? Well, Caleb can only gasp in horror when he turns and looks at her!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

Till Death... (Table of Contents: 9)

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

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! The doors to the Vault of Horror are open, fiends!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); Donna (Steve's wife, death); Steve (death); Jebco (servant)

Synopsis

Steve's new wife falls ill, dies and is buried. Steve's servant, Jebco, tries to fill the void, but the despair is too great. But Jebco says there is a way to have her back, and secretly he removes the corpse of Donna from her grave and puts it through a voodoo ritual.....and she walks again....as a zombie! Steve is overjoyed until she begins to decompose. When Steve, in vain, tries to kill her, he drinks poison to end it all. But loyal Jebco puts him through the same voodoo ritual, and he returns as a zombie....to be with his love....forever!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #28 (December 1952-January 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Touch and Go! (Table of Contents: 10)

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

Script

Ray Bradbury; Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig

Inks

Johnny Craig

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

William Acton rose to his feet.

Genre

crime

Characters

Arthur Huxley (death); William Acton (villain)

Synopsis

Acton had killed Arthur Huxley and now tried to remove any clue that he had been at Huxley's home and had committed the crime. But his fixation with eliminating evidence of his presence had its consequences.

Reprints

• from Crime SuspenStories (EC, 1950 series) #17 (June-July 1953)

Indexer Notes

Adapted from the short story "Touch and Go" (later retitled "The Fruit at the bottom of the Bowl") by Ray Bradbury.

Some of the story appears in flashback.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Fall Guy for Murder (Table of Contents: 11)

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

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

My name is Gregg Saunders.

Genre

crime

Characters

Edith Wilson [Edith Colby] (Harry's wife, death); Gregg Saunders (private detective, death); Phil (city coroner); Harry Wilson (villain)

Synopsis

Harry calls in his good friend, best man and private-eye, Gregg Saunders, to investigate the sudden disappearance of his wife, Edith. He finds a clue in a murder mystery novel called "Fall Guy For Murder", but, in the end, it is Gregg who turns out to be the fall guy!

Reprints

• from Crime SuspenStories (EC, 1950 series) #18 (August-September 1953)

Keywords

"Fall Guy For Murder" (novel)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich, verified by Al Feldstein.

Script revision by Craig Delich.

Whirlpool (Table of Contents: 12)

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

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Inks

Johnny Craig

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Well, well!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); unnamed woman; three asylum employees

Synopsis

Her mind was whirling as three horrid creatures hovered over her, asking her her name, and she ran to escape. A series of events: thrown into boiling water, plunged into ice, poked with a hypodermic, strapped into an electric chair, and put into a small room that kept shrinking. She thought she was going insane, but the men told her everything had been in her mind and that she was an inmate in an insane asylum. She began to quiver and as they began to ask her her name, she suddenly remembered that THEY were the ones trying to persecute her!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #32 (August-September 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

...And All Through the House... (Table of Contents: 13)

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

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig

Inks

Johnny Craig

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Ho, ho, ho! And what would you like for Christmas?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); Santa Claus

Synopsis

A terrific thud w/the fireplace poker and her husband Joseph lay dead on the floor. But then she heard her little girl upstairs, who asked her mommy if Santa Claus had come yet, and was told no and to go back to sleep. The wife then returned downstairs, cleaned off the poker, turned on the radio and heard an announcement of a maniac woman-killer dressed as Santa on the loose in the area. She wondered how she would be able to get rid of Joseph's body, when there was a knock at the door. She looked outside and saw a Santa at her door, the woman-killer, and paniced knowing she couldn't call the Police w/her husband's body there on the floor. Quickly she ran to every door and window, locking them, putting Joseph into a closet and then trying to board up windows from the inside. Going upstairs to check on Carol, her daughter, the woman was terrified when she found the little girl gone.....but more terrified when she went downstairs to see Carol having let in "Santa Claus"!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #35 (February-March 1954)

Reed Crandall (Table of Contents: 14)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Reed Crandall, with a black and white image from the splash of "...Only Skin Deep!".

[Masked Man Stalks Old Woman] (Table of Contents: 15)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Color image from the splash of "...Only Skin Deep!".

Carrion Death! (Table of Contents: 16)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Reed Crandall (signed as Reed Crandall)

Inks

Reed Crandall (signed as Reed Crandall)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

My lips are parched and swollen and cracked.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

unnamed State Trooper (death); unnamed bank robber (villain, death)

Synopsis

A man handcuffed to policeman is trying to make his way through the desert on foot. He realizes that he has to separate himself from the body but has nothing sharp to cut off the dead man's hand with. He decides to lie down and allow the vultures to strip the corpse, but when he regains consciousness the vultures have already started in on him as well.

Reprints

• from Shock SuspenStories (EC, 1952 series) #9 (June-July 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-9. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Script revisions by Craig Delich.

[Man carrying a dead body] (Table of Contents: 17)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Blown-up image of "Carrion Death" page 4, panel 5.

...Only Skin Deep! (Table of Contents: 18)

The Vault of Horror! / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Yep, creeps, it's your scream-story-teller in the Vault of Horror...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); Herbert; Suzanne (Herbert's wife); A. M. Moore (Justice of the Peace); Moore's wife

Synopsis

A man marries a woman at Mardi Gras who wears a hag mask. She continually puts off his requests to remove her mask until he becomes agitated enough to bodily pull the mask off of her head whereupon he realizes she wasn't wearing a mask.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #38 (October-November 1953)

Keywords

Mardi Gras

Indexer Notes

Script revisions, colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

[Terrified Man's Face] (Table of Contents: 19)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Panel repro from ..."Only Skin Deep!" page 6 panel 3.

Jack Davis (Table of Contents: 20)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Jack Davis, with a black and white image from the splash of "'Taint the Meat...It's the Humanity!".

[Crypt-Keeper with bloody hatchet] (Table of Contents: 21)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Color image from the splash of 'Taint the Meat...It's the Humanity!".

The Living Mummy (Table of Contents: 22)

The Haunt of Fear / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

This is the story of three men who created life out of death...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Professor Arnold Zamron (scientist, death); Stevens (Zamron's assistant, death); Krause (Zamron's assistant, death); The Mummy (villain)

Synopsis

Three scientists succeed in reviving a mummy who then proceeds to kill two of them with the third running over a cliff in a panic.

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #4 (November-December 1950)

Indexer Notes

Cover story.

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-8. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

The Reluctant Vampire! (Table of Contents: 23)

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

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Carlos Badilla

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Greetings, ghouls! Yes, it's me... the Crypt-Keeper... again!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); Mr. Cross (blood bank director); Mr. Drink (villain, a vampire, death)

Synopsis

Mr. Drink, a vampire, has a job as night watchman at the local Blood Donor Center, and he has used this job to secure his daily supply of blood, then doctors the books to make everything appear legitimate. But one evening, the record book is missing, forcing him to kill someone to replace the blood he has supped on. When Drink discovers that the blood center is to be closed unless the facility takes in twice the amount of blood it does now, Drink decides to kill more victims to restock the shelves. The center's director reports this to the Police, bringing the case to an unusual end.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #20 (August-September 1951)

Indexer Notes

Colorist credit by Craig Delich.

[Stalking Mummy] (Table of Contents: 24)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Blown-up image from the splash page of "The Living Mummy".

Ear Today... Gone Tomorrow! (Table of Contents: 25)

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

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Yep!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); Irwin Durd (death); Elliot Unger (death)

Synopsis

Two business partners who own a fertilizer factory next to a cemetery decide to tunnel under ground into the caskets in order to fill a large order for bone meal fertilizer. After they succeed in filling the order, they decide to take a vacation upstate, but the car conks out beside a farm's corn patch. They move through the corn patch, which happens to have been fertilized by the order they filled, towards the farmhouse but do not make it as the corn husks become animated and beat them to death.

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #11 (January-February 1952)

Keywords

Durd and Unger Fertilizer

Indexer Notes

This is the first story the Crypt Keeper interrupts repeatedly.

[Disgusted Man] (Table of Contents: 26)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Blow-up of "Ear Today... Gone Tomorrow!" page 4 panel 5.

Yellow! (Table of Contents: 27)

A War SuspenStory / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Here is a tale of tension with an electrifying finish!

Genre

war

Characters

Sergeant Maurer (radio man); unnamed sentry; Captain Millikan ("B" Company Commander); Lieutenant Martin Henderson (the Colonel's son, death); Sergeant Hefner; Colonel Clark Henderson; The Nazis (villains, named only)

Synopsis

A Colonel's son faces the firing squad for cowardice under fire, and is court-martialed and found guilty, sentenced to die by firing squad. Later, the Colonel lies to his boy, telling him that the rifles are loaded with blanks so that his son will go to his death like a man.

Reprints

• from Shock SuspenStories (EC, 1952 series) #1 (February-March 1952)
• in The EC Archives (Gemstone Publishing, 2006 series): Shock SuspenStories Volume 1 (July 2006)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-1. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Story was possibly based on one of Gaines's favorite sources for plot elements, "Try and Stop Me" by Bennett Cerf.

[Frightened Soldier] (Table of Contents: 28)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash panel of "Yellow!"

Death of Some Salesmen! (Table of Contents: 29)

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

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hmmph! Fairy Tales!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host)

Synopsis

A salesman has the bad luck to break down outside the home of a deranged old couple who cover him with a shotgun as they show him their refrigerator, stove, vacuum cleaner, grandfather clock, and television set that they made sure worked by testing it out on the body of each device's respective salesman. The man asks him "What do you sell?" and he replies "It's out in the car" while the old woman covers him with the shotgun. The old man goes to get it and he tells the woman "You don't want what I sell" and offers to pay anything to be released but she just waits for her husband to return with the device, a handy-dandy meat cutter...

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #15 (September-October 1952)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

[Salesman drinking coffee] (Table of Contents: 30)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "Death of Some Salesmen!" page 4 panel 3.

'Taint the Meat...It's the Humanity! (Table of Contents: 31)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla ?

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Come in, fiends!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); Mrs. Vinkle; Mr. Fuddy; Mrs. Dickleborg; Mr. Snerd (death); Mr. Grundy (death); Mrs. Snerd (death); Mrs. Abacrombie (death); Mrs. Gabber; Mr. Vandercliff; Sarah Gristle (Zach's wife); Junior (Zack's son, death); Pete (Sheriff); Zack Gristle (villain, butcher, death)

Synopsis

A butcher during the war gets around rationing points by selling steak to the wealthy customers who will pay cash for it and horsemeat, then stale meat and finally tainted meat to everyone else. When Junior, his son, dies from the tainted meat, his wife seizes a carving knife and advances upon her husband, cutting him neatly into serving portions, and putting him on display in his butcher shop's display case.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #32 (October-November 1952)

Indexer Notes

Colorist and letterer credits added by Craig Delich, letterer credit verified by Al Feldstein.

Lower Berth! (Table of Contents: 32)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh heh! Got a collector's item for you fiends!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); Ernest Feeley (carnival owner); Myrna [aka Myranah] (Crypt-Keeper's mother, death); Zachary Cling (Myrna's owner); un-named Egyptian Pharaoh; un-named wife of Pharaoh; Enoch (Crypt-Keeper's father, death); Dr. Jebson Sickles (Enoch's owner); un-named Justice of the Peace

Synopsis

The Crypt Keeper relates his origin story of the meeting between his parents, a 4000 year old female Egyptian mummy and a two-headed corpse.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #33 (December 1952-January 1953)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

Foul Play! (Table of Contents: 33)

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

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Ah... spring is here, eh, fiends?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host)

Synopsis

Psychotic baseball players dismember a player from an opposing baseball team in revenge for his using poisoned cleats in a game and then use his body parts to play ball.

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #19 (May-June 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

[Severed Head] (Table of Contents: 34)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close up of "Foul Play!" page 7 panel 2.

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime! (Table of Contents: 35)

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

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

heh, heh! Find felicitations, fiends.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); Clara Cootes; Edwin Cootes; Herbert Draper (mortician); Dr. Stacey; Frank Bundage (store owner); George Sparkman (electrician); Mathilda Priddy (schoolteacher); Sye Shusters (lawyer); Judge Delaney; Mrs. Philips; Freddy Philips (death)

Synopsis

Children in town had questioned people about various things regarding death and funerals, and were fascinated about a man dying in the electric chair. But they really wanted to know what the punishment for robbery and kidnapping would be, and a lawyer informed them it wouldn't be death. As the kids came down the street carrying a coffin, a mother came up screaming to townsfolk, telling them that her son was missing and that he had stolen another child's doll and had refused to give it back. Then they all looked in horror as they gazed over at the kids, who had just finished burying the coffin!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #33 (October-November 1953)

Indexer Notes

Script revision by Craig Delich, adding Feldstein's script credit.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

[Crypt-Keeper Beckoning] (Table of Contents: 36)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash panel for "Lower Berth!"

G Evans (Table of Contents: 37)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

George Evans

Inks

George Evans

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by George Evans, with a black and white image from page 5, panel 3 of "The Trophy!".

[Man Falling Backwards] (Table of Contents: 38)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

George Evans

Inks

George Evans

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the image from page 5, panel 3 of "The Trophy!".

The Trophy! (Table of Contents: 39)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Davis

Inks

Jack Davis

Colors

Carlos Badilla; ?

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Well! Heh, heh!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); The Vault-Keeper (image); The Old Witch (image); The Editor (image); The Associate Editor (image); Clyde Franklin (big game hunter, death of sorts); un-named Morning Globe newspaper reporter; Jeeves (Franklin's servant); un-named lunatic (villain)

Synopsis

A sportsman who is only interested in game for the trophy ends up the victim of a lunatic who thinks the same way about humans.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #25 (August-September 1951)
• This story is incorrectly credited to George Evans in the table of contents. It is indeed drawn by Jack Davis. See, for example, https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/splash-pages/jack-davis-tales-from-the-crypt-25-the-trophy-crypt-keeper-splash-page-1/a/7036-92082.s

Keywords

Morning Globe

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

The Small Assassin! (Table of Contents: 40)

A Horror SuspenStory / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

George Evans

Inks

George Evans

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Here is a tale of tension with sheer horror in its blood-curdling climax!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Alice (death); David (Alice's husband, death); Dr. Jeffers; David and Alice's unnamed baby (villain, eventual death)

Synopsis

A mother is paranoid that her newborn baby is attempting to kill her. She's right. And the doctor, who brought the child into the world, after finding her husband dead as well, decides to take care of matters......in his own way!

Reprints

• from Shock SuspenStories (EC, 1952 series) #7 (February-March 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-8. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

[Medical Scene] (Table of Contents: 41)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

George Evans

Inks

George Evans

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash page of "The Small Assassin!".

Blind Alleys (Table of Contents: 42)

The Vault of Horror! / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

George Evans

Inks

George Evans

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! And now that C.K. has curdled your anemic blood...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); unnamed blind people; Gunner's unnamed lady friend; Brutus (Gunner's dog); Gunner Grunwald (villain, home's director, eventual death)

Synopsis

The blind victims of an unscrupulous and cruel director lock him and his dog up for several days without food and then release them into a maze with razor blades embedded into the walls. And then turn out the lights.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #46 (February-March 1955)

Indexer Notes

Colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

The visage of the Vault-Keeper on page 1 is a photostat by Johnny Craig taken from the story "Werewolf Concerto".

This story was Evans's last horror story for EC.

[People in Cold Apartment] (Table of Contents: 43)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

George Evans

Inks

George Evans

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash page of "Blind Alleys".

Feldstein (Table of Contents: 44)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Feldstein

Inks

Al Feldstein

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Al Feldstein, with a black and white image from the splash of "The Thing from the Grave!".

[Terrified Man] (Table of Contents: 45)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Feldstein

Inks

Al Feldstein

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash panel of "The Thing from the Grave!".

Child of Tomorrow! (Table of Contents: 46)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as FELDSTEIN)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as FELDSTEIN)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

This is the way it began...

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Jerry Gordon (mining engineer); Linda Gordon (Jerry's wife, death, in flashback); Tim (mining engineer, death, in flashback); Bill (mining engineer, death, in flashback); Jerry and Linda's murant son (death)

Synopsis

A mining engineer, 750 feet underground in a mine, feels the ground shaking and eventually emerges from it to discover massive destruction caused by a series of atom bombs dropped on the area. He learns in coming days that the nation had responded with hydrogen bombs, destroying the enemy in just four days. What he soon learned to his horror that all other people were being mutated by the radiation from the war... including his own child.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1950 series) #17 (January-February 1951)

Keywords

atomic bomb; hydrogen bomb; July 4 1971; South America; U. N. Ore and Mineral Division

Indexer Notes

Some of the story occurs in flashback.

The Thing from the Grave! (Table of Contents: 47)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as FELDSTEIN)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as FELDSTEIN)

Colors

Carlos Badilla ?

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Well! So we meet again, dear friends!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); James Barry (death); Laura Mason (Jame's wife); William (Bill) Ferth (villain, death)

Synopsis

Bill and Jim are rivals for Laura's affection. After Jim proposes and Laura accepts, she worries about Bill's temper. Bill kills Jim and buries his body in the forest and disposes of his car in a sinkhole, then tries to convince Laura that Jim has deserted her, but she refuses to believe it. Bill gets frustrated, admits to murdering Jim and tells Laura that he'll have to kill her too, taking her to a cabin and setting it afire. She screams, awakens Bill's corpse, who then rises from his grave, saves Laura, and takes care of Bill.....once and for all!

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #22 (February-March 1951)

Indexer Notes

Adapted from text story in The Haunt Of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #15 (May/June 1950).

Colorist and letterer credits added by Craig Delich, letterer credit verified by Al Feldstein.

Russ Heath (Table of Contents: 48)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Russ Heath

Inks

Russ Heath

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a story by Russ Heath, with a black and white close-up from page 4 panel 4 of "O.P.!".

[Terrified soldier] (Table of Contents: 49)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Russ Heath

Inks

Russ Heath

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up from page 4 panel 4 of "O.P.!".

O.P.! (Table of Contents: 50)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Russ Heath (signed as Russ Heath)

Inks

Russ Heath (signed as Russ Heath)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

war

Characters

unnamed U.S. Army Lieutenant; American operation post soldiers (all die); German soldiers (villains, all die)

Synopsis

An Army howitzer officer makes contact with a forward operation post, inquiring as to whether the enemy is advancing and if they need support. The outcome is rather unexpected.

Reprints

• from Frontline Combat (EC, 1951 series) #1 (July-August 1951)

Keywords

1918; Muese-Argonne; World War I

Indexer Notes

According to John Benson, in Frontline Combat EC Archive, Volume 1, Kurtzman only wrote the first story for this issue and this story was turned over to another writer under Bill Gaines' direction. Thus Kurtzman's script credit for this story has been changed to a ? by Craig Delich.

Graham (Table of Contents: 51)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Synopsis

Introduction to a selection of stories by Johnny Craig, with a black and white image from the splash of "Grave Business!".

[The Old Witch Portrait] (Table of Contents: 52)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up from the splash of "Grave Business!".

Doctor of Horror (Table of Contents: 53)

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

Script

Robert Louis Stevenson; ? (adaptation)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In the seventeenth century, when Alfred Lemonet was anatomy instructor...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Dr. Finch (retiring school Dean, new school Governor); Dr. Cranshaw (death); Professor (later Dean) Alfred LeMonet (villain, death)

Synopsis

At the Hampshire Surgeon School, Professor LeMonet is told that attendance in his classes must increase if he is to remain as a teacher there, so he digs up cadavers for use in his anatomy classes, and enrollment suddenly blossoms, to the Dean's delight. LaMonet decides to kill his competition to get Dean's job, then sees an opportunity to become Governor as well. LeMonet hires men to go out and kill people along the waterfront area, and bring their cadavers to the school to impress the royal surgeon, but the men make a grievous error, for LeMonet's body is among the other corpses!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

Keywords

Hampshire Surgeon School

Indexer Notes

Ingel's first horror story.

Story was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Body Snatcher", which was itself inspired by the real-life Burke and Hare case of 1828.

Grave Business! (Table of Contents: 54)

The Witch's Cauldron! / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Yep!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host)

Synopsis

An undertaker who overcharges for his services becomes paralyzed in an auto accident and buried alive because his partner doesn't bother to embalm him and uses all the tricks he learned while working with the victim to bilk the estate for the funeral costs.

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #10 (November-December 1951)

Indexer Notes

First use of "Ghastly" pen-name by Ingels.
Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.
Based on the story "Breakdown" by Louis Pollock.

Horror We? How's Bayou? (Table of Contents: 55)

The Witch's Cauldron! / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! I see you're horror-hungry again...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Dr. Max Forman (death); unnamed woman (death, in flashback); Anthony Jackson (salesman, death, in flashback); Everett (villain); Sidney (villain, Everett's brother)

Synopsis

A man in the Louisiana swamp diverts traffic from the road to his mansion in order to satisfy the cravings of his demented homicidal brother for victims to dismember. One night, after the latest victim, a doctor, has been dispatched, three corpses composed of mismatched pieces rise from the quicksand pool and dismember the man and reattach his body parts in incorrect order.

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #17 (January-February 1953)

Keywords

Louisiana

Indexer Notes

Script revision by Craig Delich, formerly Albert B. Feldstein.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Part of the story is told in flashback.

There Was an Old Woman! (Table of Contents: 56)

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

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Colors

Carlos Badilla ?

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Yep, kiddies, it's your hostess in The Haunt of Fear...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Emily (Tildy's housekeeper); Aunt Tildy (death); a group of morticians [Mr. Carrington (Mortuary President); others unnamed]

Synopsis

The employees of a mortuary are haunted by the spirit of an old woman who refuses to leave until they return her body to her.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #34 (February-March 1953)

Indexer Notes

Colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

The splash panel displays the last part of Bradbury's name.

[Pleading Man] (Table of Contents: 57)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of page 5 panel 5 of "There Was an Old Woman!".

Sucker Bait! (Table of Contents: 58)

The Witch's Cauldron! / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Well, hop into the Haunt, hungry hidiots.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Emile (a chemist, death); father of Emile and Stanley (death); Stanley (villain, a vampire, Emile's older brother)

Synopsis

After his father is killed by a vampire, a chemist comes up with a plan to sacrifice himself so that others may live. He drinks a radioactive substance that may be traced by a Geiger counter and leaves a note for his brother detailing the plan to use the instrument to track down the vampire after he has drained the isotope blood. Unfortunately for his plan, the chemist's brother turns out to be the vampire.

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #19 (May-June 1953)

Indexer Notes

Script revision by Craig Delich, formerly Albert B. Feldstein.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

The Handler (Table of Contents: 59)

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

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Yep, it's your dietician of disgusting drama, the Old Witch...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Mr. Rodgers (druggist); Mr. Stuyvesant (a contractor); Mr. Flinger (delicatessen man); various corpses [Mr. Smith; Mr. Andrews; Mrs. Walters; Miss Brown; Mrs. Shellmund; Mr. Wren (a racist); Edmund Worth; three unnamed gossips; unnamed lawyer; rest unnamed]; Merriwell Blythe (death); Mr. Benedict (villain, mortician, death)

Synopsis

A mortician avenges himself against perceived slights upon the closed-casket victims of his parlor by violating their bodies until a corpse who isn't quite dead yet overhears his gruesome doings and begs the dead to rise from their graves and stop this horrid man. This they do, and bury parts of Mr. Benedict under a dozen gravestones.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #36 (June-July 1953)

Keywords

Daily Star (newspaper); Daily Star newspaper

Indexer Notes

Colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

The splash panel displays the latter part of Bradbury's name.

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

[The Old Witch Portrait] (Table of Contents: 60)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Enlargement of the image of the Old Witch from the splash page of "The Handler".

Mournin' Mess (Table of Contents: 61)

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

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! And now that your appetites for horror have been sufficiently piqued...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Mayor Merk; Sweeney (reporter, death); Sweeney's boss; Felix J. Copehard (villain, a ghoul, representative of the Grateful Hoboes Society)

Synopsis

The Grateful Hoboes, Outcasts, and Unwanteds' Layaways Society is run by a man who read 'Midnight Mess' in Tales from the Crypt #35, and offers a pleasant burial for the penniless. A local reporter thinks their setup odd, and when his boss later tells him that they have buried their 1000th derelict, he is sure something stinks because their cemetery does not have enough area for 1000 graves. He discovers the truth: that the 20-30 members of the society are ghouls!

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #38 (October-November 1953)

Keywords

The Globe (newspaper)

Indexer Notes

Script revision by Craig Delich, formerly Al Feldstein.

Colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Much of the story is told in flashback.

[Digging Man] (Table of Contents: 62)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Enlargement of page 6 panel 1 of "Mournin' Mess".

Wish You Were Here (Table of Contents: 63)

The Witch's Cauldron! / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as GHASTLY)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Greetings, my fine fettered fiends.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Jason Logan (death); Enid Logan (Jason's wife); Bart Shiner (lawyer)

Synopsis

A needy couple picks up a jade statue guaranteeing that it grants three wishes so she wishes for money. The husband remembers a story he once read called 'The Monkey's Paw' and tells her not to wish for it, but she does anyway. Later, Jason is killed in an accident, and the wife gets his insurance money. She wishes him back to life before the accident, but since he died of a heart attack prior to the accident, he doesn't live again. Distraught, the wife now just wishes him back to life: with horrifying results!

Reprints

• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #22 (November-December 1953)

Indexer Notes

Adapted in the 1972 "Tales From the Crypt" film.

The Switch (Table of Contents: 64)

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

Script

Carl Wessler

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee! Hi, horror hooligans!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Carlton Webster; Fulton (Webster's butler); Linda Stewart Booth (Carleton's love interest); Dr. Hurley (Carleton's physician); Dr. Faulkner (surgeon); George Booth (man who swapped body parts with Carleton)

Synopsis

An old millionaire falls in love with a young woman but he doesn't want her to marry him for his money so he tells her he's poor. She puts him off telling him his face is too old-looking and he still has an old man's body so he gets a doctor to do an expensive face and torso transplant, but she still isn't satisfied because of his legs. He spends the last of his fortune to swap out his legs and she marries the man, George Booth, he has swapped body parts with because she only wanted to marry a millionaire.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #45 (December 1954-January 1955)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

[Old Man in a Chair] (Table of Contents: 65)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Excerpt from the splash panel of "The Switch".

Jack Kamen (Table of Contents: 66)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Jack Kamen, with a black and white image from the splash of "Split Second!".

[Man Beating Another Man with a Rock] (Table of Contents: 67)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Excerpt from the splash panel of "Split Second!".

Daddy Lost His Head! (Table of Contents: 68)

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

Script

Al Feldstein; Bill Gaines

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

This is the story of the night that Kathy's...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Martin Blackson; Kathy (his stepdaughter)

Synopsis

Martin Blackson hates his stepdaughter Kathy because she reminds him of his wife's first husband. When Kathy meets neighbor Mrs. Thaumaturge, Martin intervenes and tells Kathy to leave that "witch" alone or she'll bake her in her oven! After Kathy's mother dies, Mrs. Thaumaturge gives Kathy a man-shaped candy doll. Although Kathy swears she'll never eat it, later while Martin cuts wood, Kathy bites the doll's left hand, then hears a scream as Martin has cut off his left hand. When he hears about the doll, Martin demands Kathy hand it over, but she proves it isn't evil by biting off its head!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #19 (June-July 1951)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
Based on the story "Sweets to the Sweet" by Robert Bloch.

Loved to Death!! (Table of Contents: 69)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed as JACK KAMEN)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed as JACK KAMEN)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Ever loved someone who didn't love you?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host)

Synopsis

A rejected young man buys a love potion that works a bit too well.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #25 (August-September 1951)

Indexer Notes

Inspired by the story "The Chaser" by John Collier.

The Martian Monster (Table of Contents: 70)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Freddy Harmon sat cross-legged on a flat rock under a shady oak tree...

Genre

science fiction

Synopsis

A man dresses up as a Martian in the nearby woods to convince a little boy to murder his father so he and the boys step-mother can get to his money. However the man doesn't realize that there really is a Martian in the woods.

Reprints

• from Weird Science (EC, 1951 series) #9 (September-October 1951)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.
Inspired by the story "Mr. Lupescu" by Anthony Boucher.

[Boy Sitting on Saturn] (Table of Contents: 71)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash panel of "The Martian Monster".

Split Second! (Table of Contents: 72)

A Crime SuspenStory / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed as Jack Kamen)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed as Jack Kamen)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

crime

Characters

Jack (lumberjack); Fuz (lumberjack); Ted Morgan (lumberjack); Steve Dixon (villain, lumberjack boss, death); Liz (Silver Dollar Saloon singer, Steve's wife, eventual death)

Synopsis

When a lumberjack boss blinds a young worker by hitting him in the head with a rock, the other lumberjacks gag him and stuff him in a hollow log for the blind boy to practice chopping through......and Liz, his wife, is next!

Reprints

• from Shock SuspenStories (EC, 1952 series) #4 (August-September 1952)
• in The EC Archives (Gemstone Publishing, 2006 series): Shock SuspenStories Volume 1 (July 2006)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-2. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Dead Right! (Table of Contents: 73)

A Crime SuspenStory / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein (signed)

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed as Kamen)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed as Kamen)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Brace yourself for the shocking final twist to this gripping tale of tension...

Genre

crime

Characters

Madame Vorna (fortune teller); J. Flag Marson (prison warden, mention only); Mr. Clayton (Cathy's boss); Cathy Finch Marno (office clerk, waitress, death); Charles Marno (villain, Cathy's husband, death)

Synopsis

A fortune teller predicts to a woman that a man who wants to marry her, but she finds repulsive, is going to inherit twenty-five thousand dollars and die shortly afterward, so she marries him. What the fortune teller doesn't tell her is that she wins the twenty-five thousand dollars as a prize, and when she tries to walk out on the slob, he murders her and inherits her money then dies in the electric chair.

Reprints

• from Shock SuspenStories (EC, 1952 series) #6 (December 1952 - January 1953)

Keywords

Daily Clarion; Netherlane Cafeteria

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-7. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Script revisions by Craig Delich.

Story inspired by "In the Cards!" by John Collier.

Zero Hour (Table of Contents: 74)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed as Kamen)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed as Kamen)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

It was an interesting that the fury and bustle occurred only among the younger children.

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Mary Morris; Mink Morris (daughter of Mary Morris); Henry Morris (Mary's husband); Joseph Conners; Anna; Peggy Ann; Helen (Mary's friend in New York); Tim (Helen's son); Drill (villain, a Martian)

Synopsis

Mrs. Morris, at first, thinks nothing of her daughter and a friend playing their game of "invasion". But when Mink starts telling of a Martian named Drill, who is the fore-runner of a Martian invasion of Earth, and Mary discovers that kids of her friends in other parts of the country are playing the same game, she wonders if this is for real.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #18 (March-April 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

[Thinking Woman] (Table of Contents: 75)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "Zero Hour" page 6 panel 2.

Planely Possible (Table of Contents: 76)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed as JACK KAMEN)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed as JACK KAMEN)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

My name is Walter Thurmond.

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Walter Thurmond (death); Ruth Thurmond (Walter's wife, death); Dean Warburton (a hospital lab technician)

Synopsis

After a serious car accident, Walter's wife slips into a coma and passes away. But when a hospital lab tech approches Walter, telling him that he can transport the grieved man into one of several different planes of existence, one of which has the couple both still alive. Walter agrees.....but soon wishes he hadn't.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #21 (September-October 1953)

Indexer Notes

Corrected script credits and letterer credit by Craig Delich.

B. Krigstein (Table of Contents: 77)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Bernie Krigstein

Inks

Bernie Krigstein

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Bernie Krigstein, with a black and white image from page 3 panel 7 of "The Flying Machine".

[Flying Machine] (Table of Contents: 78)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Bernie Krigstein

Inks

Bernie Krigstein

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Blow-up of image from page 3 panel 7 of "The Flying Machine".

The Flying Machine (Table of Contents: 79)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Bernie Krigstein (signed as B. Krigstein)

Inks

Bernie Krigstein (signed as B. Krigstein)

Colors

Carlos Badilla (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In the year A.D. 400...

Genre

drama

Characters

Emperor Yuan; Yuan's servant; Ho (the flying man, death)

Synopsis

When Emperor Yuan discovers that a villager has learned how to create a flying machine, he has him killed so the secret won't fall into the wrong hands.

Reprints

• from Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series) #23 (Spring 1954)

Keywords

China

Indexer Notes

Story occurs in 400 A.D.

Master Race (Table of Contents: 80)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Bernie Krigstein (signed as B. Krigstein)

Inks

Bernie Krigstein (signed as B. Krigstein)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

You can never forget it, can you, Carl Reissman?

Genre

drama

Characters

unnamed concentration camp survivor; Carl Reissman (villain, Belsen Concentration Camp Commander, death); Adolf Hitler (villain, in flashback); The Nazis (villains, in flashback)

Synopsis

At the end of World War 2, the commander of Belsen Concentration Camp fled across Europe and to America, always fearful of a lone camp inmate who threatened to find Reissman and make him pay for the atrocities that occurred in the camp during the war. His greatest fear is realized while riding a train and coming face to face with that inmate.

Reprints

• from Impact (EC, 1955 series) #1 (March-April 1955)

Keywords

Belsen concentration camp; Holocaust

Indexer Notes

Script credit from "Tales of Terror!" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

This story was originally a 6-page one, but Krigstein felt that length was inadequate and wanted to expand it to 12 pages. Bill Gaines said no to that, but he eventually agreed (with Feldstein) on 8 pages. Krigstein was paid $43 per page for this story.

Some of the story told in flashback.

Harvey Kurtzman (Table of Contents: 81)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Harvey Kurtzman, with a black and white image from the splash of "Kill".

[Soldiers Walking] (Table of Contents: 82)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Blow-up of image from the splash of "Kill".

High Tide! (Table of Contents: 83)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

crime

Characters

unnamed bookkeeper (death); unnamed civil service worker (death); unnamed lawyer (death); unnamed ship's skipper (villain, death)

Synopsis

Four men on a mail boat leave the infamous Mephisto Prison and soon hear by radio of the escape of one of the prisoners. When the boat's engine, clogged with sand, brings the craft to a halt a ways off shore, all fingers begin to point to each other as the culprit.

Reprints

• from Crime SuspenStories (EC, 1950 series) #1 (October-November 1950)

Keywords

Mephisto Island

[Close-up of Angry Face] (Table of Contents: 84)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "High Tide!" page 6 panel 2.

Man and Superman! (Table of Contents: 85)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

This is a story about Niels Urey Vannevar...

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Niels Urey Vannevar (atomic physicist); Charlemagne Farbish (Niels's brother)

Synopsis

Niels is working on increasing the mass of the atom without changing its structure, but his brother is only interested in his body-building. Charlemagne does agree to go to Niels's lab, and while Niels steps out of the room, Charlemagne decides to expose himself to the rays of Niels's machine, which gives him tremendous strength, like that of a superman. Unfortunately, as Charlemagne expends his energy, he begins to tire and lose that strength and disappears, being burnt up in a burst of energy.

Reprints

• from Weird Science (EC, 1951 series) #6 (March-April 1951)

[Dizzy Man] (Table of Contents: 86)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "Man and Superman" page 5 panel 5.

Kill! (Table of Contents: 87)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

war

Characters

Abner (soldier, death); Joe (soldier); North Korean soldiers [Li (death); others unnamed] (villains)

Synopsis

Two opposing soldiers, who truly hate the other side, each prepare in their own ways to meet their foe......the result is not what either expected.

Reprints

• from Two-Fisted Tales (EC, 1950 series) #23 (September-October 1951)

Keywords

Korea

Air Burst! (Table of Contents: 88)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

war

Characters

Chinese soldiers [Lee (death); Tai (death); Chun (death); "Big Feet" (death); others unnamed] (villains, many die)

Synopsis

The Americans have the Chinese on the run, but two of the enemy's remaining mortar crew have a surprise for the advancing Americans: a booby trap. Unfortunately, the wrong people walk into that trap.

Reprints

• from Frontline Combat (EC, 1951 series) #4 (January-February 1952)
• in EC Archives: Frontline Combat (Gemstone, 2006 series) Volume 1 (July 2008)

Keywords

Korea

Corpse on the Imjin! (Table of Contents: 89)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

It is a dark day in May!

Genre

war

Characters

American soldier; North Korean soldier (villain, death)

Synopsis

An American soldier muses about the corpses of soldiers floating down the Imjin River and how they may have died, when he is suddenly attacked by an enemy........and one of the two becomes the next corpse floating down the river.

Reprints

• from Two-Fisted Tales (EC, 1950 series) #25 (January-February 1952)

Keywords

Imjin River; Korea

Joe Orlando (Table of Contents: 90)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Joe Orlando, with a black and white image from the splash of "The Lake".

[Boy on a Rock over a Lake] (Table of Contents: 91)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up image from the splash of "The Lake".

Judgment Day! (Table of Contents: 92)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando)

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The man roared down from the night sky.

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Tarlton

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #18 (March-April 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

[Robot and Astronaut] (Table of Contents: 93)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "Judgment Day!" page 3 panel 4.

Midnight Mess! (Table of Contents: 94)

The Vault of Horror! / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando)

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Looks like supernatural is the order of the day, eh, fiends?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host)

Synopsis

A man visits his sister in a small town where people get off the street and close up shop before sundown due to a recent spate of seventeen vampire killings, but scoffs at the idea as the work of a homicidal maniac as vampires don't exist. He is hungry since the restaurant he was in earlier closed down before he could order something to eat and so he goes for a walk after dinner. He comes upon the same restaurant that he was in earlier and it is open now. He enters the place to get something to eat, but ends up on the menu himself, for it serves as an after-hours eatery to the local vampires.

Reprints

• from Tales from the Crypt (EC, 1950 series) #35 (April-May 1953)

Indexer Notes

Colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich.
Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

[Man Stalked by Specter] (Table of Contents: 95)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of the splash panel of "Midnight Mess!".

The Lake (Table of Contents: 96)

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

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

It was September...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); a little boy; Margaret (the grown-up little boy's wife); lifeguard; Tally (death, in flashback)

Synopsis

Years ago, a little boy and his young girl friend, Tally played at the beach and built sandcastles together. One day, Tally swam out into the water and drowned, leaving the sandcastle undone, and no closure for the boy. Years later, the little boy, now grown, got married and returned to the beach with his wife, and met with the old lifeguard, who showed him Tally's body in a sack. Once more, the young man returned to the beach, built an entire sandcastle and walked back to his wife, Margaret, leaving the past behind.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #31 (June-July 1953)

Indexer Notes

Story was adapted from Ray Bradbury's "The October Country," which appeared in May 1944's "Weird Tales" and the anthology "Dark Carnival."

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Harvest (Table of Contents: 97)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando)

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

science fiction

Reprints

• from Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series) #25 (September 1954) [Original comic is incorrectly listed in this book as Weird Fantasy #25.]

[Robot Farmer] (Table of Contents: 98)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of an image from the splash panel of "Harvest".

John Severin (Table of Contents: 99)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

John Severin

Inks

Bill Elder

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by John Severin, with a black and white image from the splash of "Bomb Run!".

[Flying Plane] (Table of Contents: 100)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

John Severin

Inks

Bill Elder

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Color image from the splash of "Bomb Run!".

War Story! (Table of Contents: 101)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

John Severin (signed as SEVERIN)

Inks

Bill Elder (signed as ELDER)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

June, 1950!

Genre

war

Characters

Dave Hunzer (flashback, death); Duke Hunzer (flashback); Colonel Hishomura (villain, death); The Japanese (villains, many die, flashback); North Koreran soldiers (villains, some die)

Synopsis

A new soldier is involved in a fire fight with the enemy and believes that he has killed his first man though the enemy was already dead. Visibly shaken, he considers himself a killing machine, but his Sergeant tells him a real story of killers that involves two brothers in World War 2.

Reprints

• from Two-Fisted Tales (EC, 1950 series) #19 (January-February 1951)

Keywords

Korean War; Ponape Island; Zero

Indexer Notes

Story set in June of 1950.

[Marine Under Fire] (Table of Contents: 102)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

John Severin

Inks

Bill Elder

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up on an excerpt from the splash panel of "War Story!".

Marines Retreat! (Table of Contents: 103)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

John Severin (signed as SEVERIN)

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman (signed as Harvey)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

war

Characters

U.S. Marines [Tony Feranda (death); Kelley; Joe; Private Harold Parks; rest unnamed] (some die); Chinese Army (villains, many die)

Synopsis

American forces are surrounded at the Changjin Reservoir, so they attempt to make their way back to the coast. Private Parks is dreaming of his kinfolk back at home, so much so that he puts himself in a precarious and probably fatal position.

Reprints

• from Frontline Combat (EC, 1951 series) #1 (July-August 1951)

Keywords

Changjin Reservoir; Korea; Port of Hungnam

Bomb Run! (Table of Contents: 104)

Frontline Combat / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

John Severin (signed as SEVERIN)

Inks

Bill Elder (signed as ELDER)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

aviation; historical; war

Characters

unnamed pilot (death); Sergeant Johnny Breslin (radioman, death); Tech Sergeant Arthur Fleischer (engineer-gunner, death); Jerry De Fuccio (tail gunner, death); 1st Lieutenant Colin Campbell (co-pilot and bombardier, death); The Japanese (villains, some die)

Synopsis

An American bomber, "The Odyssey", has made a successful bombing run over a Filipino island when Japanese Zeros fill the sky and attack. While several Zeros are shot down, the bomber suffers a hit left engine, and they radio for help. They receive a message with landing instructions not knowing the message is a fake from a Japanese radio station with devastating results!

Reprints

• from Frontline Combat (EC, 1951 series) #4 (January-February 1952) [Original comic is incorrectly listed as Frontline Combat #4 in this book.]
• in EC Archives: Frontline Combat (Gemstone, 2006 series) Volume 1 (July 2008)

Keywords

Philippines; The Odyssey (B-26 bomber); Zero

[Gunner Jerry] (Table of Contents: 105)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

John Severin

Inks

Bill Elder

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Blow-up of "Bomb Run!" page 1 panel 5.

The Million Year Picnic (Table of Contents: 106)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

John Severin (signed as SEVERIN)

Inks

Bill Elder (signed as ELDER)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Somehow the idea was brought up my mom that perhaps the whole family...

Genre

science fiction

Characters

unnamed father; unnamed mother; parent's children [Mike; Robert; Timothy]

Synopsis

A mother and father take their kids on a million year trip in their boat, past dead cities whose Martian population had been wiped out in a war with the Earth. Finally arriving at one of the cities, the family stops and decides to make their new home there, with Dad promising the kids that they would soon see Martians. After traveling a bit into one of the canals, they peered into the water therein and saw themselves: Martians.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #21 (September-October 1953)

Keywords

Mars

Indexer Notes

An adaptation of a Ray Bradbury's Martian story.

[Family Walking in a Devastated City] (Table of Contents: 107)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

John Severin

Inks

Bill Elder

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "The Million Year Picnic" page 7 panel 1.

Alexander Toth (Table of Contents: 108)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Alex Toth

Inks

Alex Toth

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a story by Alex Toth, with a black and white image from the splash of "Thunderjet" page 8 panel 4.

[Man Climbing from Cockpit] (Table of Contents: 109)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Alex Toth

Inks

Alex Toth

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of image from "Thunderjet" page 8 panel 4.

Thunderjet! (Table of Contents: 110)

Frontline Combat / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Alex Toth

Inks

Alex Toth

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

non-fiction; war

Characters

Captain Wood Paladino (jet pilot); Johnny (mechanic); Rasmussen (jet pilot); Gunn (jet pilot); Roberts (jet pilot); North Koreans (villains, some die)

Synopsis

Captain Wood and his squadron go on a mission to destroy a North Korean troop train.

Reprints

• from Frontline Combat (EC, 1951 series) #8 (September-October 1952)
• in EC Archives: Frontline Combat (Dark Horse, 2013 series) Volume 2 (1st edition, October 2019)

Keywords

F84 fighter bomber; Korean War; MIG; Mig Alley; Mission 2120; napalm

Indexer Notes

Cover story.

Al Williamson (Table of Contents: 111)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Williamson

Inks

Al Williamson

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Al Williamson, with a black and white image from the splash of "Upheaval!".

[Men on Spaceship Talking] (Table of Contents: 112)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Williamson

Inks

Al Williamson

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Excerpt from the splash panel of "Upheaval!".

By George!! (Table of Contents: 113)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON)

Inks

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON); Jack Hearne

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

North in Beirut, in Lebanon, in October of 1952...

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Alan (archaeologist); Marvin (archaeologist); un-named alien boy (death); Princess Sabra; Saint George

Synopsis

Two archaeologists uncover a large, smooth object, looking very much like a building block, that is covered with etched inscriptions on five of its six sides, which are later translated by Marvin. To their surprise, the block proves to be a diary of an alien boy who stole a spaceship on his planet 14 Centuries before.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #15 (September-October 1952)

Indexer Notes

Hearne credit added by Craig Delich 2013-9-17.
Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

[Drooling space monster] (Table of Contents: 114)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Williamson

Inks

Al Williamson

Colors

Carlos Badilla

50 Girls 50 (Table of Contents: 115)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON)

Inks

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON); Frank Frazetta; Roy Krenkel

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I have to laugh!

Genre

science fiction

Characters

un-named General; Sid (death); Laura Masters (death); Wendy (villain)

Synopsis

Fifty men and fifty women are chosen to make a 100-year journey to a far-off solar system in order to inhabit it and continue the population process well into the future. Each volunteer would be quick-frozen so that they could be thawed out at the end of the journey and ready for their job, which is a process that could only be performed once. But one of the men, Sid, sees an opportunity of being able to enjoy one woman per year while on the trip.....unfortunately, his intended has different plans!

Reprints

• from Weird Science (EC, 1951 series) #20 (July-August 1953)

Indexer Notes

Krenkel inker credit added by Craig Delich 2013-9-21.

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

[Man Getting Out of Hilbernator] (Table of Contents: 116)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Williamson

Inks

Al Williamson

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of image from the splash of "50 Girls 50".

Upheaval! (Table of Contents: 117)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harlan Ellison; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON)

Inks

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON); Roy Krenkel

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The ship was from Earth...

Genre

science fiction

Characters

un-named ship's Captain; Devers

Synopsis

A Captain and his crew land on a weird planet whose surface was like green felt......a planet that swallowed the ship and crew, then spewed them out of its interior.....like vomit. As the ship took off, the whole crew had the answer to a concern that they all had been arguing about: that, even though they thought man was the highest form of evolutionary structure, they had just been proven wrong.....by the planet itself!

Reprints

• from Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series) #24 (June 1954)

Indexer Notes

Krenkel credit added by Craig Delich 2013-9-24.

[Astronauts Running] (Table of Contents: 118)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Williamson

Inks

Al Williamson

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "Upheaval!" page 5 panel 6.

A Sound of Thunder (Table of Contents: 119)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Williamson (signed as AL WILLIAMSON)

Inks

Angelo Torres; Roy Krenkel

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Mr. Eckles (hunter); Mr. Travis (a guide); Keith (President of the U.S., mention only); Lyman (Keith's opponent, mention only); Billings (hunter); Kramer (hunter); Travis; Lesper

Synopsis

Mr. Eckles and his guide visit Safari, Incorporated, an agency that uses a time machine to transport people to the past to hunt dinosaurs. He pays the $10,000 stipend and signs a release......then back 60 million years into the past both he and his guide travel with several other hunters. Their goal: to bag a T-Rex! They are warned to stay on a certain path....otherwise they could change the course of history.....and they do: in a weird way.

Reprints

• from Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series) #25 (September 1954)

Keywords

The Safari Inc.

Indexer Notes

Ray Bradbury adaptation. Krenkel inker credit by Craig Delich 2013-9-30.

[Time Machine] (Table of Contents: 120)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Williamson

Inks

Al Williamson

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "A Sound of Thunder" page 2 panel 2.

Wood (Table of Contents: 121)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Wally Wood

Inks

Wally Wood

Indexer Notes

Introduction to a selection of stories by Wally Wood, with a black and white image from the splash of "Mars is Heaven!".

[Men on Spaceship] (Table of Contents: 122)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Wally Wood

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up image from the splash panel of "Mars is Heaven!".

Spawn of Mars (Table of Contents: 123)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein; Bill Gaines

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

No one was more surprised than I when my application was accepted...

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Jean Belmont; Doctor Wheems (atomic engineer); Mrs. Janet Wheems; Doctor Bradley (bio-physicist); Doctor Ken Fairbanks (navigator, death); Martians [one as Ken Fairbanks (death)] (villains)

Synopsis

Jean was agog with excitement as she was to be the first woman to set foot on the planet Mars. As the ship's crew set down and disembarked, the men went out to explore, Jean began to feel as if she were being watched. Soon one of the doctors was carried off by slithery alien creatures, but returned just as the ship was set for take-off. Jean and Ken were married, but then she discovered a secret known only to her new husband.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #9 (September-October 1951)

Keywords

Atomic Energy Commission; M-XAR-2 (Mars Experimental Rocket-2)

Indexer Notes

Plot and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Desert Fox! (Table of Contents: 124)

Frontline Combat / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

non-fiction; war

Characters

Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel (villain, death); the Nazis (villains, some die)

Synopsis

General Rommel makes his way across northern Africa, lacking supplies. In an interesting development, he stops into a British hospital to look around, then moves on to a Polish POW camp, moving his troops, at a tremendous cost, to El Alamein. All the while, Nazis are committing reprisals against prisoners that have dared to kill German soldiers, then the news comes that German soldiers have tried to kill Adolf Hitler. When it is learned that Rommel had a hand in the plot to kill Hitler, he commits suicide.

Reprints

• from Frontline Combat (EC, 1951 series) #3 (November-December 1951)
• in EC Archives: Frontline Combat (Gemstone, 2006 series) Volume 1 (July 2008)

Indexer Notes

Wood signed the story with "Art by Wood" on a shell in the foreground.

Story occurs from November of 1941 to 1944.

[Battle scene] (Table of Contents: 125)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Wally Wood

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "Desert Fox!" page 4 panel 1

There Will Come Soft Rains... (Table of Contents: 126)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The sun came out from behind the rain.

Genre

science fiction

Synopsis

This story basically serves as a allegory for human's ethical progress failing to keep pace with his technological progress. It describes an automatic house that continues to function long after the people that once lived there have been reduced to dust stains on the wall by nuclear holocaust.

Reprints

• from Weird Fantasy (EC, 1951 series) #17 (January-February 1953)

Indexer Notes

An adaptation of a Ray Bradbury's Martian story.

[Hungry Hound] (Table of Contents: 127)

illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Wally Wood

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Indexer Notes

Close-up of "There Will Come Soft Rains..." page 3 panel 7.

Mars Is Heaven! (Table of Contents: 128)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The ship came down from space.

Genre

science fiction

Synopsis

Sneaky Martians disguise themselves as the dead loved ones of astronauts in order to slay them in their sleep.

Reprints

• from Weird Science (EC, 1951 series) #18 (March-April 1953)

Indexer Notes

Based on a Ray Bradbury story.

Came The Dawn! (Table of Contents: 129)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Colors

Carlos Badilla

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I knew someone was in the lodge the minute I hit the clearing.

Genre

crime

Characters

Cathy Maxwell (death); Bob Ames; un-named criminally insane girl (villain)

Synopsis

A man thinks that the girl he has met in the woods may be a dangerous escaped lunatic because she matches the description, but his girlfriend ends up meeting a grim fate as the latest victim of the true escapee.

Reprints

• from Shock SuspenStories (EC, 1952 series) #9 (June-July 1953)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit per Russ Cochran and added by Craig Delich 2013-12-9. Feldstein reports that Wroten used a K & E Lettering Stylus to do all the lettering with.

Script revisions by Craig Delich.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 130) (Expand) /

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