(December 1951-January 1952)

EC, 1950 Series
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Volume
1
Price
0.10 USD
Pages
36
Indicia Frequency
bi-monthly
Publisher's Age Guidelines
Authorized A.C.M.P. Conforms to the Comics Code
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
L. L. Publishing Co. Inc.
Brand
EC An Entertaining Comic
Editing
Al Feldstein (credited as Albert B. Feldstein) (editor); Bill Gaines (credited as William M. Gaines) (managing editor)

Issue Notes

Parts of this issue are reprinted:

Frankenstein Monster! (Table of Contents)

The Witch's Cauldron! / cover / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Johnny Craig (signed)
Inks
Johnny Craig (signed)
Colors
?
Letters
?
Genre
horror-suspense
Characters
The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset); The Frankenstein Monster
Reprints
Keywords
monsters
Cover Thumbnail for Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #22
Edit cover
Cover gallery

Fountains of Youth! (Table of Contents: 1)

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

Script
Johnny Craig
Pencils
Johnny Craig
Inks
Johnny Craig
Colors
? (see notes)
Letters
Jim Wroten
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Heh, heh! Well, here we are together again...
Genre
horror-suspense
Characters
The Vault-Keeper (host); Kenneth Martin; Eileen Martin (Kenneth's sister, death); Miss Blanchard; Madam DuBois (villain, death)
Synopsis
Eileen responds to a newspaper ad asking for a traveling companion for a heavily veiled Madam DuBois, who is traveling abroad, even though her brother Ken is not too happy with the idea. Then she and Madam DuBois board a cruise ship. Unfortunately, Eileen mysteriously passes away, and Ken investigates. A shipboard doctor informs him that Madam DuBois is similar to a human vampire, who prolongs its life by sapping the youth of their victims. By the time the pair get to DuBois' cabin, her next victim is already withering and dying before their eyes!
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin, but it is unlikely that Severin had begun coloring at EC when this issue was colored (Cassell 2012, 33–34 and 171).
_________
Reference:

Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.

The Monster in the Ice! (Table of Contents: 2)

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

Script
Al Feldstein (co-plot, script); Bill Gaines (co-plot)
Pencils
Graham Ingels (signed as Ghastly)
Inks
Graham Ingels (signed as Ghastly)
Colors
?
Letters
Jim Wroten
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Hee, hee! Yep! It's me again!
Genre
horror-suspense
Characters
The Old Witch (host); The Frankenstein Monster; Gerald Dawson and Herbert Campbell (geologists)
Synopsis
As Gerald Dawson sits as his desk in a shack in the Arctic, Herbert Campbell enters, telling him that their Eskimo guide refuses to take them any further. Dawson goes to see Lomo in his igloo, and the Eskimo tells him of the monster in the ice, and that no one who sees it comes back in their right mind. Dawson & Campbell rig up a dog-sled and go to the site, spot the monster and dig its ice-encased body out and take it back to their shack. They show the body in ice to Lomo and he freezes in fear, especially when he is ordered to chip the body out of the ice! While that is happening, Dawson and Campbell kick back, telling themselves that this whole thing reminds them of Mary Shelly's book about Frankenstein. Suddenly, they hear a scream and a crash, and enter the adjoining room and see the window broken out and Lomo shaking in fear. Now they know the creature must be put back into the ice, so they go out and dig through the ice to water, and they hope to lure the monster into the trap. The monster shows up....jumps into the hole and drags both men down with him. One year later, the U.S. Air Force decides to build a base near that very spot and two airmen happen to spot the bodies trapped in the ice. So......they start digging out the bodies to see what they can determine what happened to them.....
Reprints
Keywords
monsters

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
Story inspired by both the 1951 film The Thing from Another World, and the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Cover story.

Choice (Table of Contents: 3)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script
Bill Gaines
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Synopsis
He had been sentenced to ten years in the sizzling cells of El Malein Prison out in the Sahara Desert, but he knew he couldn't make it. As the airplane he was in flew nearer to that prison site, he jumped out of the plane and pulled the ripcord on his parachute. He landed, and for the next five days, he braved the heat and whipping sand, trying to find water. Then he saw the tall pond fronds that indicated an oasis, and it renewed his waning strength. Just then, the fronds disappeared; it had all been a mirage! But he made his choice and he still had his freedom: the freedom to die in agony!
Reprints

Indexer Notes

This text story was printed on the inner halves of the two pages, with EC house ads to either side. One promoted Weird Fantasy #10 [with an Al Feldstein cover], while the other ads [with covers] promoted the Picture Stories From the Bible series: the Complete Old and New Testaments, the Old Testament #1-2 and the New Testament #1.

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

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

Script
?
Pencils
Johnny Craig (spot illo)
Inks
Johnny Craig (spot illo)
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Characters
The Vault-Keeper (head view)
Reprints

Indexer Notes

VK's column begins with his campaign against the Old Witch and Graham Ingels, and a mock letter from his local draft board, followed by the reader's popularity poll for last issue's stories. Then letters are printed from Ellen Louise Phillips, Joe Carroll and Rand Rensvold, followed by the promoting of the photos of the three GhouLunatics!

Gone...Fishing! (Table of Contents: 5)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Al Feldstein
Pencils
Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)
Inks
Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)
Colors
? (see notes)
Letters
Jim Wroten
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Hee, hee! Yep! It's your old horror fiend, the Crypt-Keeper!
Genre
horror-suspense
Characters
The Crypt-Keeper (host); Maxwell Larkin (death); Steven
Synopsis
Max was a noted sport fisherman, but Steven hated the sport, which he considered cruelty to animals. Max outfitted his reel with the latest gadgets and cast into the water. Soon he got a strike and reeled in his beauty. Steven, sick to his stomach, went back to the car and drove off, taking Max's lunch with it. Spotting a candy bar on the beach, he shoved it in his mouth, never noticing the thin, silky, nearly invisible thread attached to it. When Steven returned, he saw the horrible sight of Max bobbing up out of the water and being drawn farther and farther out to sea!
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for “Fountains of Youth!,” above).

What the Dog Dragged In! (Table of Contents: 6)

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

Script
Ray Bradbury (original short story); Al Feldstein (adaptation)
Pencils
Jack Kamen (signed as Jack Kamen)
Inks
Jack Kamen (signed as Jack Kamen)
Colors
?
Letters
Jim Wroten
First Line of Dialogue or Text
And now, come see...
Genre
horror-suspense
Characters
The Vault-Keeper (host); Betty Marsh; Jerry the dog; Roger Cartwright
Synopsis
Blind Betty's dog Jerry is hit by a car but cared for by wealthy Roger Cartwright, who returned her dog to her. Betty was happy to have company and invited him back, which he did and they soon grew quite close. One day, as Roger left her house in his car, he didn't see the truck coming from the other direction. Betty sent Jerry after him and day after day Jerry returned without Roger. Until one day Jerry came in with Roger.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Unauthorized adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story "The Emissary."

Editing
Issue at my.comics.org
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. Frankenstein Monster!
    The Witch's Cauldron!
  2. 1. Fountains of Youth!
    The Vault of Horror!
  3. 2. The Monster in the Ice!
    The Witch's Cauldron!
  4. 3. Choice
  5. 4. [no title indexed]
    The Vault-Keeper's Corner
  6. 5. Gone...Fishing!
    The Crypt of Terror
  7. 6. What the Dog Dragged In!
    The Vault of Horror!
This issue was modified by, among others
  • David B
  • Chris Boyko
  • Craig Delich
  • Katy Hayhurst
  • Jerry Hillegas (R.I.P.)
  • Michael Hoskin
  • Jason Sacks
  • Ramon Schenk
  • Jim Stangas
  • Jim Van Dore
  • Michael Vance
  • Mike White
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