Tales from the Crypt (comic)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tales from the Crypt was part of Bill Gaines' EC Comics line during the early 1950s. The bi-monthly horror comic, edited by Al Feldstein, began with an issue cover-dated April – May 1950. Over a five-year span, it ran for 30 issues, ending with the February – March 1955 issue.
After early front covers by Feldstein, Johnny Craig and Wally Wood, the remaining covers (1952-55) were by Jack Davis. The contributing interior artists were Craig, Feldstein, Wood, Davis, George Evans, Jack Kamen, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, Bernard Krigstein, Will Elder, Fred Peters and Howard Larsen.
Tales from the Crypt originated with a Feldstein story, "Return from the Grave!", in EC's Crime Patrol #15 (December 1949 – January 1950). Feldstein created his host character, the Crypt-Keeper, with that story. Issue #16 featured more horror tales than crime stories, so with #17 the title changed from Crime Patrol to The Crypt of Terror. Due to an attempt to save money on second-class postage permits, the numbering did not change with the title change. It continued as The Crypt of Terror for the next two issues.
The title was finalized as Tales from the Crypt with issue #20 (October – November, 1950). Jack Davis took over the art for the Crypt-Keeper stories with issue #24 (June – July, 1951), and he continued as the title's lead artist for the rest of the run. For issue #33, Feldstein devised the Crypt-Keeper's origin story, "Lower Berth!", illustrated by Davis.
In 1954, Gaines and Feldstein intended to reactivate the earlier title, The Crypt of Terror, by adding a fourth book to their three existing horror titles (Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and The Haunt of Fear). However at this time comics were under fire as causing juvenile dilenquency. In September of that year Gaines made the decision to cease publication of all his horror and crime comics. Since an issue of The Crypt of Terror had already been produced, it was published as the final issue of Tales from the Crypt , issue 46 (February – March, 1955).
The 1972 movie features five stories from various EC comics. In 1989, the series was adapted into the TV series Tales from the Crypt, which included comic book covers designed to look like the original 1950s covers. These new covers featured artwork by Mike Vosberg, with at least one drawn by Shawn McManus.
In Fritz Lang's film While the City Sleeps (1956), a copy of Tales from the Crypt is read by John Drew Barrymore, and his daughter, Drew Barrymore, reads a large reprint of Tales from the Crypt in "The Screaming Woman" episode of Ray Bradbury Theater. As the phrase "Tales from the Crypt" became synonymous with horror, there were many other pop culture references and parodies, such as the T-shirt, worn by hikers, with a landscape image on a comic book titled Trails We Have Crept.
[edit] Issue guide
| # | Date | Cover Artist | Story | Story Artist | Story Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | April/May 1950 | Johnny Craig | Death Must Come! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| The Man Who Was Death | Unknown | None | |||
| The Corpse Nobody Knew | George Roussos | None | |||
| Curse of the Full Moon! | Johnny Craig | None | |||
| 18 | June/July 1950 | Johnny Craig | The Maestros Hand! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| The Living Corpse | Wally Wood | None | |||
| Madness at Manderville | Harvey Kurtzman | None | |||
| Mute Witness to Murder! | Johnny Craig | None | |||
| 19 | Aug/Sept 1950 | Johnny Craig | Ghost Ship! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| The Hungry Grave | Graham Ingels | None | |||
| Cave Man | Johnny Craig | None | |||
| Zombie! | Johnny Craig | None | |||
| 20 | Oct/Nov 1950 | Johnny Craig | The Thing from the Sea! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| A Fatal Caper! | Jack Kamen | None | |||
| Rx... Death! | Graham Ingels | None | |||
| Impending Doom! | Johnny Craig | None | |||
| 21 | Dec/Jan 1951 | Al Feldstein | A Shocking Way to Die! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| Terror Ride! | Wally Wood | None | |||
| House of Horror | Harvey Kurtzman | None | |||
| Death Suited Him! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 22 | Feb/March 1951 | Al Feldstein | The Thing from the Grave! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| Blood Type "V"! | Graham Ingels | None | |||
| Death's Turn! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| The Curse of the Arnold Clan! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| 23 | April/May 1951 | Al Feldstein | Reflection of Death! | Al Feldstein | Crypt Keeper |
| Last Respects! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| Seance! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Voodoo Death! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| 24 | June/July 1951 | Al Feldstein | Bats in My Belfry! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| The Living Death! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| Midnight Snack! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| Scared to Death! | Wally Wood | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 25 | Aug/Sept 1951 | Al Feldstein | The Trophy! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Judy, You're Not Yourself Today! | Wally Wood | Vault Keeper | |||
| Loved to Death! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| The Works... In Wax! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 26 | Oct/Nov 1951 | Wally Wood | Drawn and Quartered! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| The Borrowed Body! | Howard Larsen | Vault Keeper | |||
| Indian Burial Mound | George Roussos | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Political Pull! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 27 | Dec/Jan 1952 | Wally Wood | Well-Cooked Hams! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Madam Bluebeard | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| Return! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Horror! Head... It Off! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 28 | Feb/March 1952 | Al Feldstein | Bargain in Death! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Ants in Her Trance! | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| A-Corny Story | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| The Ventriloquist's Dummy! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 29 | April/May 1952 | Jack Davis | Grounds... For Horror! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| A Rottin' Trick! | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| Board to Death! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| A Sucker For a Spider! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 30 | June/July 1952 | Jack Davis | Gas-tly Prospects! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| A Hollywood Ending! | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| Auntie, It's Coal Inside! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Mournin', Ambrose... | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 31 | Aug/Sept 1952 | Jack Davis | Survival... or Death! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| The Thing in the 'Glades! | Al Williamson | Vault Keeper | |||
| Kamen's Kalamity! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Buried Treasure! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 32 | Oct/Nov 1952 | Jack Davis | Tain't the Meat... It's the Humanity! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Roped In! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Cutting Cards! | Fred Peters | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Squash... Anyone? | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 33 | Dec/Jan 1953 | Jack Davis | Lower Berth! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| This Trick'll Kill You! | Jack Kamen & George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Funeral | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| None But the Lonely Heart! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 34 | Feb/March 1953 | Jack Davis | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Oil's Well That Ends Well! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Attacks of Horror! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| There Was An Old Woman! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 35 | April/May 1953 | Jack Davis | By the Fright of the Silvery Moon! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Midnight Mess! | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| Busted Marriage! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| This Wraps It Up! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 36 | June/July 1953 | Jack Davis | Fare Tonight, Followed By Increasing Clottyness... | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Curiosity Killed... | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| How Green Was My Alley | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| The Handler | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 37 | Aug/Sept 1953 | Jack Davis | Dead Right! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Pleasant Screams! | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| Strop! You're Killing Me! | Bill Elder | Crypt Keeper | |||
| The Rover Boys | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 38 | Oct/Nov 1953 | Jack Davis | Tight Grip! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| ...Only Skin Deep! | Reed Crandall | Vault Keeper | |||
| Last Laugh! | Bill Elder | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Mournin' Mess | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 39 | Dec/Jan 1954 | Jack Davis | Undertaking Palor | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| The Craving Grave | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Sleeping Beauty! | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Shadow of Death | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 40 | Feb/March 1954 | Jack Davis | Food For Thought | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Pearly to Dead | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Prairie Schooner | Bernie Krigstein | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Half-Baked! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 41 | April/May 1954 | Jack Davis | Operation Friendship | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Come Back, Little Linda! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Current Attraction | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Mess Call | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 42 | June/July 1954 | Jack Davis | Concerto for Violin and Werewolf | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| By the Dawn's Early Light | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Bath | Bernie Krigstein | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Hoodwinked! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 43 | Aug/Sept 1954 | Jack Davis | Four-Way Split | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Cold War | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper | |||
| Clots My Line | George Evans | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Accidents and Old Lace | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 44 | Oct/Nov 1954 | Jack Davis | Forever Ambergris | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Burial At Sea | Reed Crandall | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Proposal | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| The Sliceman Cometh | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 45 | Dec/Jan 1955 | Jack Davis | Telescope | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| The Substitute | Jack Kamen | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Murder Dream | Bernie Krigstein | Crypt Keeper | |||
| The Switch | Graham Ingels | Old Witch | |||
| 46 | Feb/March 1955 | Jack Davis | Upon Reflection | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
| Blind Alleys | George Evans | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Success Story | Joe Orlando | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Tatter Up! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
[edit] Trivia and outstanding stories
- Adaptations from Ray Bradbury stories included "There Was An Old Woman" (#34) and "The Handler" (#36).
- "Lower Berth" (#33) explained the origin of the Crypt Keeper
- "Reflection of Death" (#23) and "Blind Alleys" (#46) were adapted for the Tales From the Crypt movie.
- Issue 38 was one of two covers from EC's horror comics censored prior to publication. While The Vault of Horror #32 cover was restored in Russ Cochran's EC Library reprints, the Tales from the Crypt cover remained censored.
- "Kamen's Kalamity" (#31) starred many members of the EC staff, including Gaines, Feldstein and the story's artist, Jack Kamen. Graham Ingels, Jack Davis and Johnny Craig also made cameo appearances in this story in single panels where they drew themselves.
- The following were used in HBO's Tales From The Crypt television series: "The Man Who Was Death" (issue 17), "Mute Witness to Murder" (18), "Fatal Caper" (20), "The Thing From The Grave" (22), "Last Respects" (23), "Judy, You're Not Yourself Today" (25), "Loved to Death" (25), "Well Cooked Hams" (27), "The Ventriloquist's Dummy" (28), "Korman's Kalamity" (retitling of "Kamen's Calamity" in issue 31), "Cutting Cards" (32), "Lower Berth" (33), "None But The Lonely Heart" (33), "Oil's Well That Ends Well" (34), "Curiosity Killed" (36), Only Skin Deep (38), "Mournin' Mess" (38), "Undertaking Palor" (39), "Food For Thought" (40), "Operation Friendship" (41), "Cold War" (43), "Forever Ambergris" (44) and "The Switch" (45), "Blind Alleys" (46).
