The Bitter End And Other Stories

by Reed Crandall, Reed Crandall (Artist), George Roussos (Artist)

Twenty-two crime, horror, and science fiction stories by master comics artist Reed Crandall. eight crime and horror stories by fellow EC artist George Roussos. Reed Crandall was an undisputed master of fine line detail and expertly nuanced pen-and-ink texture. He was a perfect fit for EC Comics, and he brilliantly illuminated sharp scripts featuring schemes, tricks, betrayal, and retribution in the company’s crime, horror, and science fiction titles. This volume features 22 Crandall favorites from the pages of Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, Weird Science-Fantasy, Extra , and Impact , “Dog Food,” one of EC’s best revenge stories, featuring a sadistic prison camp warden who abuses his dogs to keep them mean ― to terrorize his prisoners. And no, it’s not the twist ending you might expect ― which is why it was voted by fans as one of the top three EC horror stories. “The Shadow Knows” in which a man who murders his wife is pursued by her shadow everywhere he turns. “The Bitter End” in which a wealthy businessman tries to force his only son into becoming the hard-driving executive he needs to take over the family business. “Close Shave,” a science fiction parable about love overcoming racial prejudice and division. “Swamped,” voted by fans as one of the top three best illustrated EC horror stories of all time, is the grisly tale of a demented ghoul living in the Okefenokee Swamp. eight crime and horror stories by fellow EC artist George Roussos and an introduction by Jon Gothold. Black-and-white illustrations throughout

Genres: Comics

232 pages, Hardcover

Published December 26, 2023

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of EC tales drawn by Reed Crandall and a few by George Roussos. Crandall's art is the cream of the crop and Roussos was no slouch either. My beef with this book is that a lot of the material is from the New Direction line, when EC had to water down the line to appease the douchebags at the comics code authority so the writing isn't as punchy as previous volumes. Still, you've got one of the masters and a better than average artist putting in some great work. Four out of five stars.

[Neil Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixture of amusing trifles, interesting artifacts of their time, and some real chillers & surprisingly prescient gems; with some of the most lush art of the day

[John Gustafson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first volume I've read of Fantagraphics' anthologies of stories from EC comics from the 1940s and 1950s. It's also my first conscious encounter with artist Reed Crandall, who did some amazing black & white illustrative work, which I hope to see more of. The stories, for the most part, don't hold up, but the art transcends any clunkiness in the narrative.

EC abandoned horror and horror-adjacent comics in the 1950s after the Seduction of the Innocent moral panic, and there's definitely a sense of something missing in the latter work, as if Crandall was still striving to do the best work he could but was stuck with material that was just less fun. Just a reminder that the book-banning hysterics are still with us and will succeed in stopping creators from doing their best work again unless they are fought at every turn.

An addendum with stories drawn by George Roussous is less impressive. His lumpy heads are more on par with the tawdry plot twists.