The EC Archives: Tales from the Crypt Volume 5

The EC Archives

by Al Feldstein

Dark Horse Comics is proud to bring you more creepily classic Tales from the Crypt! Digitally re-colored using Marie Severin's original colors as a guide, this twisted tome features stories drawn by the unforgettable artistic talents of Jack Davis, George Evans, Jack Kamen, Graham Ingels, Reed Crandall, Bernie Krigstein, Bill Elder, and Joe Orlando!

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

216 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Albert Bernard Feldstein was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. After retiring from Mad, Feldstein concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife.

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just really charming, with some fun art. Also like how every twist ending of these yelp-yarns is completely guessable.



Yes alright, Linda, we get it! Sheesh..!

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice horror comics collection. C art and storytelling is top shelf. Recommended

[Garth · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 - 365 Days of Horror

Issues #41-46

Issue #41: Cover by Jack Davis. "Operation Friendship," script by Otto Binder, art by Jack Davis; A mad surgeon cuts out 75% of his married friend's brain so that he can maintain it in a vat and enjoy the mental stimulation of his company while his dumb wife gets the remaining 25% of his brain and his body. "Come Back, Little Linda," script by Al Feldstein, art by George Evans; In order to save money, the management of an insane asylum moves the patients into dungeon cells that the hospital was built on. "Air-Tight" text story. "Current Attraction," script by Al Feldstein, art by Jack Kamen; A circus father attempts to get the knife thrower out of his daughter's life by placing a bar magnet behind the board the knife thrower's wife stands in front of while he does his act. "Mess Call," script by Al Feldstein, art by Graham Ingels; A German soldier addled by his experiences in the trenches of WWI is recruited by a butcher in the following war to dispose of patrons in the cellar so that he has plenty of meat to sell. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Issue #42: Cover by Jack Davis. "Concerto for Violin and Werewolf," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Davis; A violinist who has read "Midnight Mess" in Tales from the Crypt #35 suspects that the Transylvanian town he has come to visit his old teacher in has a werewolf infestation problem. "By The Dawn's Early Light," script by Al Feldstein, art by Jack Kamen; A man who has just flown in into New York from Illinois ties up a man he suspects of being a vampire just before dawn and makes him lie in a coffin. "On Ice" text story. "The Bath," script by Al Feldstein, art by Bernie Krigstein; A servant of the owner of a silver mine fills his bath with piranha after the mine owner unknowingly works the servant's younger brother to death and shoots his parents who were attempting to extract revenge. "Hoodwinked!", script by Al Feldstein, art by Graham Ingels; A woman commits suicide when her fiancee's younger brother gets drunk and rapes her. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Issue #43: Cover by Jack Davis. "Four-Way Split," script by Otto Binder, art by Jack Davis; An air freight business partner who used to man a bombsite during the war kills his partner by dropping him out of the plane directly where four states meet. "Cold War," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Kamen; Norman King meets and begins wooing a beautiful married girl named Maria; But that doesn't faze Norman one bit, so he decides to kill her husband and marry her anyway. "Inside Story" text story. "Clots My Line," script by Al Feldstein, art by George Evans; A television show about guessing the guest's occupation brings on a manufacturer of red ink. "Accidents and Old Lace," script by Al Feldstein, art by Graham Ingels; An art dealer murders a man in order to inspire three old sisters who create beautiful tapestries upon witnessing violent deaths of people. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Issue #44: Cover by Jack Davis. "Forever Ambergris," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Davis; A sea captain murders a man for his wife by having him row out to a plague island where he contracts the disease. "Burial At Sea," script by Carl Wessler, art by Reed Crandall; A man kills an old man for 30 thirty gold coins and thinks that there must be more to the treasure when he finds a treasure map locating a spot just offshore under water. "Gunman" text story. "The Proposal," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Kamen; A woman who uses men to stay surrounded by the finer things in life finally hears what she wants to hear "I want you for my wife." "The Sliceman Cometh," script by Carl Wessler, art by Graham Ingels; An executioner during the Terror, who takes money from a relative in order to guillotine his brother, finds he has a difficult time in getting rid of the head. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Issue #45: Cover by Jack Davis. "Telescope," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Davis; A man and a rat from a ship wreck wash up on an island and eye each other warily as the only food source available. "The Substitute," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Kamen; A man assumes that the body of the governor of the penal colony he is a prisoner in will be sent back to Paris, so he kills him with a poisoned dart from a blowgun and makes plans to switch places with his body in the casket. "Squeeze Play" text story. "Murder Dream," script by Carl Wessler, art by Bernard Krigstein; A maniac ax-murderer assumes his victim's identity in his dreams until he is compelled to return to the scene of the crime to murder the victim's wife as well. "The Switch," script by Carl Wessler, art by Graham Ingels; 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. One-page editorial on the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency investigation into the comic industry. Two-page montage of the EC office with caricatures of the artists by Marie Severin. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Issue #46: Final issue of the series. Cover by Jack Davis. "Upon Reflection," script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Davis; The mayor of a small town vows revenge upon a werewolf that kills his wife. "Blind Alleys," script by Al Feldstein, art by George Evans; 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. "Gone To Seed" text story. "Success Story," script by Carl Wessler, art by Joe Orlando; A woman and her parents move in with a man they nag constantly to get ahead in the world because he can't afford their demands for gadgets. "Tatter Up!", script by Carl Wessler, art by Graham Ingels; A man is murdered by a creature made out of old rags in retaliation for killing the woman who was kind to the rag creature. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[harlequin {Stephanie} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the story repetition was grating.

[Doug Bolden · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there was a volume in another series, especially a middle volume, such as "Volume 5 of 9...", I would have probably given it two-stars and only recommended it for completists. On a general pass-through, most of the stories are not terribly exciting, the sex-and-gore feels mashed-in without passion, the plots get fairly repetitive*, and in at least one case they rip off a punch-line from another story, and then tell you.**

Except this is not a volume in another, longer series: this is the final volume of the most iconic horror comic of all time, and it shows. You get the mildly infamous "Are You a Red Dupe?" ad, which tells kids that communists are the ones out to destroy their comic books [as opposed to misinformed Senate committees (link goes to my blog where I talk about it)]. You get a letter asking people to write in and tell said Senate committee about the impact of comics in your life. And you get the "We threw in the towel" letter in the very last issue, which wasn't even an issue of Tales from the Crypt, but was supposed to be the first issue of the new run of Crypt of Terror: a fourth horror E.C. title because right before political pressure collapsed them, the horror line was booming.*** You also get what seems to be a vibrant letters-to-the-editor sort of page, largely filled with puns about popular songs with titles or lyrics swapped out with horror gags. And those damned text stories...eh.

You do get some really nice bits. "Accidents and Old Lace", about a group of old women who weave fascinating tapestries after witnessing fatal accidents, is a blend of humor and horror with just the right note of implausibility by the end. "Murder Dream" is a great attempt at trying new things with the art style, nailing a strange dream-like state. "Telescope"'s ending is a bit "eh", but the set-up of a starving man stranded in the middle of nowhere with only a starving rat as a companion has some charm. "The Sliceman Cometh" is a dark comedy of a revenge story, not quite so pat as many that E.C. was putting out at this stage.

And, finally, [literally, it is the last story told in Tales of the Crypt, you have the amazing "Tatter Up!", which features a gold-digging gigolo marrying an old woman for her money, and then ever day a "rag man" (who buys old clothing) shows up and gives her too much money, and every day she goes out and scrounges for rags, and the guy stays home and tries to find the cash, and it is like a pitch-perfect proto-Ramsey-Campbell story with perhaps the most interesting and unique ending in the entire run. Highly recommended.

The rest, though, get tired fairly quick. For every basically readable one, such as "Success Story", you get a basically unreadable one like "Upon Reflection". They are a little more explicit about sex (they at least hint that people are killing off others to get it on, not simply because they like kissing a lot).

In conclusion, buy it if you are into Tales from the Crypt or want to see some of the artifacts from it, such as the "Are You a Red Dupe?" ad. Go and read volumes 2 and 3 if you want something that shows off the height of the title better.

* To be fair, E.C. only had four basic plots: 1) Someone falls in love with someone else's lover, kills that someone else, and someone else comes back from the grave; 2) Person is mean to a group of people, group of people [dead or alive] kills person; 3) Group of people are mean to a person, etc etc; 4) something to do with a fairy-tale or the French revolution, probably in the Haunt of Fear. Five you count the text stories, which generally boil down to "Dude does something clever, just joking they die...dick."

** Instead of a town of vampires, it's a town of werewolves! GABOOM! Clever!

*** The best jab in the letter is the one that says they are looking forward to juvenile crime and delinquency plummeting now that evil comics are destroyed.

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

[Paul Sutter]

The more one reads the reprints of EC Comics classics from Dark Horse books, the more one appreciates the value of Comics history. The roots for today’s comics come from almost 75 years ago, with comics in their infancy, and competing companies aiming for their niche in the market. EC was certainly a contender, but they were given a bad rap as they say, for their quite graphic images in their horror tales. Psychologists and others rebelled, making them tone things down a little. But even toned-down, EC was able to generate great interest in their great and ghoulish stories.
This latest edition of TALES FROM THE CRYPT VOLUME 5, has the usual superior stories, with lots of twists and twisted endings. EC had some of the best writers and illustrators in the business, as you will see here. Such names as Jack Davis, Jack Kamen, Bernie Krigstein, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, and many others, make this edition must read material. Issues 41-46 of TALES FROM THE CRYPT are featured here, with enhanced colors that leap from the page.
There are some stories that stand out above others, with that extra devilish touch to them. Come Back Little Linda takes place in a mental institution, where one older man keeps asking for Linda to come to him. The staff keeps the people in despicable conditions, until there is a snap inspection planned. They move the inmates to the more respectable part of the asylum, but inspectors find out the truth, and who Linda really was. Telescope is creepy good, where a man and a rat wash up on a deserted island. They are fighting for the last scraps of food, until there is a ravenous feasting for all the wrong reasons and all the wrong results. Another tale The Proposal, has a woman dumped by a man who goes back to her wife. She has no money and may be evicted from her apartment, until she decides to hit on the man in the apartment across from her. They kiss and after great persistence, the man talks about wanting her for his wife. But not in the way any good may come from it.
There are other great tales such as: Burial At Sea ,Cold War, The Switch, Current Attraction, Murder Dream and others. This is another must-add to your collection of EC classics revisited, and reprinted. They beg to be read again and again.

[Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reza el dicho que todo lo bueno se acaba y, pese a todos los esfuerzos, "Tales from the crypt" y sus otras revistas satélites finalmente sucumbió a los nuevos códigos de censura estadounidense y su campaña contra los cómics pulp que se desviaban de los mismos y pervertían a la juventud con sus contenidos. Tuvo que detener rotativas y, con ello, murió una institución y una época dorada de la que, muchos años más tarde, otras publicaciones recogerían el testigo en tiempos más "abiertos" de espíritu. Con este tomo se pone punto y final a la colección y la pena es doble porque fue mejorando con el tiempo en todos los aspectos. Nos encontraremos, probablemente porque eran conscientes de que la derrota era inminente, con uno de los mejores volúmenes: historias más extremas, de humor negrísimo, incluso autoreferenciales en ciertos momentos, donde reencontraremos a toda la plétora canónica del monstruo clásico (salvo momias) y gran cantidad de venganzas repletas de justicia poética frente a interesados sin escrúpulos, mentirosos e infieles que buscan aprovecharse de un prójimo al final no tan inocente y reciben su justo castigo, las más veces por intervención preternatural acompañada de criaturas, algunas verdaderamente originales como la formada por jirones de ropa. Este quinto tomo, quizá a modo de sobria despedida, no cuenta con prólogos ni epílogos. Como decía al principio, todo lo bueno se acaba pero gracias a Diábolo Ediciones siempre tendremos esta edición restaurada y a todo lujo para seguir disfrutando de la joya que marcó una época y legó una herencia incalculable.

[Ville-Markus Nevalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun pulpy collection of "horror" stories for those yearning for something else. Each one is introduced with a hilariously horrific way by the "storytellers" who also return to tell one-liner dad jokes after each terrible twist (e.g. a story where a man had decapitated his family we are reminded how he finally got a-head wink-wink). It's charming stuff to leaf through.

The funny thing is that half way through the collection I realized that you wouldn't actually need the illustrations, you could easily read and fully understand the stories even without as the narration is so exhaustive on every panel. Part of the charm, obviously.

It did make me yearn for a proper pulp story with depth to it like in Watchmen. Wonder if any exist with as much thought put into them?

[Choupi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tome final qui boucle les dernières histoires de ce célèbre magasin d’horreur des années 50. Depuis le précédent livre, je trouve que l’écriture s’est vraiment améliorée, nous proposant de meilleurs contes macabres. Encore plus réussis en termes de chutes et d'humour noirs.

J’ai souri au clin d’œil et à la pique sur les accusations dont a fait fasse l’éditeur à l’époque sur la violence pour les jeunes et qui, malheureusement, a fait arrêter la série.

Bref, des histoires plus réussies, moins clichées dans l’ensemble avec des chutes un peu plus pertinentes, drôles et parfois surprenantes.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can feel some of the enthusiasm bleeding out in this volume, as EC was informed that the publication of horror comics was in danger. The stories become less clever and more just bitter, and several issues even end with direct calls to action to save the horror comic industry. Did it work? Sadly, no- the final issue promises more, but ends with the series' cancellation.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great stories, some good stories, and always beautiful artwork.

[EC Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way better than Volume 4. "Come Back, Little Linda" is maybe my favorite Evans story, and his "Blind Alleys" is also classic, both written by Feldstein and Gaines. The gorier Jack Davis stories like "4 Way Split" and "Telescope" are awesome, and he completes his werewolf cycle here with two of those, one great and one that wraps up the series with the only, most ironic variation left.
The new writers have hit their stride of sorts. Bernie Krigstein gives us a preview of what the future of comics would have looked like if they weren't shut down with "The Bath" and the amazing "Murder Dream". Ingels is still experimenting with cool stuff like "Mess Call". His funny "The Switch" and the doomed romance of "Tatter Up', close the book out.
ALMOST all the covers are amazing; I think this one's possibly underrated because they put (by far) the worst cover on the front, which they really shouldn't do, please! Don't believe anyone saying these were running out of steam, they were cut down mid-stride and the volume 5's of each horror title in this series are among the best issues (and actually, their sci fi titles were peaking at this same time, too).

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

All good things come to an end as the final issues are collected in this volume. If you liked the previous ones you will like this too.

[Sylvester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good volume with classic stories such as Blind Alleys and Forever Ambergris.