Classic Horror Comics

[Hoosier X]

So Ive always wondered, is there any notable differences between the 3 EC series (Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Vault of Horror)? Or are they fairly interchangeable besides having different hosts? i know Tales from the Crypt used to be Crime Patrol, but does it continue to be supernatural crime stories?

I have to admit that they are pretty much the same book, with the exception of having a different host in the lead spot. All three of the hosts appeared in every issue and made intentionally bad puns and narrated stories about adulterous wives and predatory men who got turned into zombies or were torn apart by menacing ironic plot devices.

I couldn't begin to tell you exactly why I prefer The Haunt of Fear. My favorite EC horror story is "Midnight Snack" from Crypt #24. (Gotta love those Feldstein covers.)

[Ghost]

Not really. The only someways notable differences are in the artists; Haunt is Ingels centric, Vault's tone is set around Johnny Craig as lead artist, and Crypt was the most diverse although it later settled on Davis. But ultimately this doesn't mark much difference between them.

Ah, I see. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Tupiaz]

So Ive always wondered, is there any notable differences between the 3 EC series (Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Vault of Horror)? Or are they fairly interchangeable besides having different hosts? i know Tales from the Crypt used to be Crime Patrol, but does it continue to be supernatural crime stories?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZpF3RhRxl0 It is an clip from the documentary below. I can't post two videos so I gave the link if you just wanted to see the talk about the different artists.

I do have an interest in the EC comics 'Tales from the Crypt' and 'Vault of Horror' that put comic book companies into trouble with moral values enforcers and resulted in the creation of Comics Code Authority.

More like Marvel and DC wanting the code so they could put EC out of business. EC's book was selling a lot and superheroes wasn't popular after the war. Marvel and DC tried to copy EC but it was just that a copy. Marvel and DC therefore settle for the code (without going to court) because it was in there interest to have it. If I remember correctly Stan Lee also said that the code never changed much for the superhero books. William Gaines tried to fight the system but when he had to fight to have an astronaut black or white (Gaines wanted to have him black in a story about prejudges) he had enough. The story did get published though.

[Catspit]

now that Darkhorse has taken over the EC Archive editions.. will they be reprinting the earlier collections as well (IE. Tales from the crypt vols 1 to 3.- i think they started on #4 this year)

[Angilasman]

I'm just starting to read Fanta's EC Library: have both the Davis Crypt and Kurtzman War volumes and they're spectacular. The linework seems to be impeccable from all the EC artists, so I don't think the loss of color hampers anything.

Also getting the Creepy/Eerie artist showcase volumes. The Yoe volumes cover really varied ground, so I typically only pick up one of those if the content seems really interesting (like Briefer Frankenstein or Jack Cole art).

[Ghost]

This is pretty cool. An animated short created by using cover art of old Eerie Publications (not to be confused with Warrens Eerie magazine). The sound is from the 1973 "Horror Record".



"Eerie Publications was a publisher of black-and-white horror-anthology comics magazines. Less well-known and more downscale than the field's leader, Warren Publishing (Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella), the New York City-based company was one of several related publishing ventures run by comic-book artist and 1970s magazine entrepreneur Myron Fass. Titles published during their 15 years of operation included Weird, Horror Tales, Terror Tales, Tales from the Tomb, Tales of Voodoo, and Witches' Tales. All of these magazines featured grisly, lurid color covers.

New material was mixed with reprints from 1950s pre-Comics Code horror comics. Writer/artist credits seldom appeared, but included Marvel Comics penciller/inkers Dick Ayers and Chic Stone, as well as Fass himself, with brother Irving Fass and Ezra Jackson serving as art directors. Long-time Golden Age comics producer Robert W. Farrell had the title of publisher. Golden Age great Carl Burgos, creator of the original Human Torch, was editor;" - quote source

A recently published book on Eerie Publications titled "The Weird World of Eerie Publications: Comic Gore That Warped Millions of Young Minds" is available through Amazon here.

For a collection of various Eerie publication covers check here.

[John Keyt]

Vault of evil marvel comics , Worlds Unknown by marvel , enjoyed those classics also just picked up by creepy by dark horse a 4 part series look interesting .

[basbash99]

One of my favorite horror series was Twisted Tales, published by Pacific Comic back in the 80s (I think maybe the last couple of issues were published by Eclipse after Pacific went under). Mostly Bruce Jones stories with a variety of artists, mostly great! Eclipse attempted to follow up with Tales of Terror (which had a variety of writers as well as artists) but that was much more of a mixed bag and overall not as good, IMO.

[marshal99]

Unauthorised UK printing of Marvel B & W horror mags.

[Daryl]

Ohhh yeah. Ive had my eye on the Haunted Horror collection for awhile. Id like to see how the non-EC horror comics differ.

This collection of old Dick Briefer Monster of Frankenstein has caught my attention as well. Seems kindof obscure?

That Briefer Frankenstein stuff is good. Not as well known to most as EC et al but enjoyable...

[Daryl]

The collections of Ditko's older horror/strange work are generally all good. That whole EC style "formula" almost always works for me. That includes EC, Eerie, Creepy, the lesser known Golden Age stuff, even the DC/Marvel books from the 70s that were mostly reprints. Rarely do I find the formula tiresome.

[Jim Kelly]

Ohhh yeah. Ive had my eye on the Haunted Horror collection for awhile. Id like to see how the non-EC horror comics differ.

This collection of old Dick Briefer Monster of Frankenstein has caught my attention as well. Seems kindof obscure?

I have that Briefer book and I love it. Briefer went through different phases with the Frankenstein character--from straight horror to parody--and it's the weirder, funnier stuff that I like best. It might be an acquired taste, but this oddball comic was ahead of its time--doing things that would become popular later on in the '60s. It's a dream come true to read these stories as I had read about them in THE COMIC BOOK BOOK back in the '70s. If you can find THE COMIC BOOK BOOK (it was re-issued a few years ago), the article therein serves as a good introduction to Briefer's work and will lend a proper appreciation for why it's considered so special by old school fans.

Also Briefer's version of the Frankenstein creature resembles Bernard Bailey's version in the Spawn of Frankenstein feature for THE PHANTOM STRANGER, back in the '70s.

I have to admit that they are pretty much the same book, with the exception of having a different host in the lead spot. All three of the hosts appeared in every issue and made intentionally bad puns and narrated stories about adulterous wives and predatory men who got turned into zombies or were torn apart by menacing ironic plot devices.

I couldn't begin to tell you exactly why I prefer The Haunt of Fear. My favorite EC horror story is "Midnight Snack" from Crypt #24. (Gotta love those Feldstein covers.)

Ostensibly it is factually true that each book was like the other and yet I felt that each had its own identity. In each book there is one host and his or her story anchors the book, while the others are guests in the book. Maybe not to the degree that Joe Orlando's DC books played up this reality, but still that's the feeling I get. THE HAUNT OF FEAR stands out because it's anchored by "Ghastly" Ingels' work on the Old Witch stories. Each artist gave a different tone to the stories, so THE HAUNT OF FEAR seems to be more in the category of gore.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT is a great title for a comic book (or a movie or a TV show) and that sets it apart. The Crypt Keeper is a better name for a host than the Old Witch or the Vault Keeper. That book feels like it's the leader, the top book. I read it as the more subversive book--critiquing the bland 1950s society that hides their skeletons in closets. I associate Jack Davis with this title.

THE VAULT OF HORROR feels like it has to take a back seat to the TALES FROM THE CRYPT. it's just not quite that special. And Johnny Craig, while a good artist, doesn't stand out. It's a sleeper kind of title. I associate the Vault Keeper's stories with those you might hear on old time radio--thrilling stories, but not over the top horror.

Another 1950s publisher of horror that many may not have heard of was Superior Comics in Canada. They were the Canadian publisher for the EC titles, but they did briefly publish their own line of horror comics that were sometimes nearly as good as EC. You can read more about them on my blog, WEIRD AND STRANGE.

[CrazyOldHermit]

This thread gives me a serious jonesing for horror comics.

[Ghost]

The collections of Ditko's older horror/strange work are generally all good. That whole EC style "formula" almost always works for me. That includes EC, Eerie, Creepy, the lesser known Golden Age stuff, even the DC/Marvel books from the 70s that were mostly reprints. Rarely do I find the formula tiresome.

This thread gives me a serious jonesing for horror comics.

Agreed and agreed . I also have the feeling I havent even began to scratch the surface yet.

[Ghost]

I have that Briefer book and I love it. Briefer went through different phases with the Frankenstein character--from straight horror to parody--and it's the weirder, funnier stuff that I like best. It might be an acquired taste, but this oddball comic was ahead of its time--doing things that would become popular later on in the '60s. It's a dream come true to read these stories as I had read about them in THE COMIC BOOK BOOK back in the '70s. If you can find THE COMIC BOOK BOOK (it was re-issued a few years ago), the article therein serves as a good introduction to Briefer's work and will lend a proper appreciation for why it's considered so special by old school fans.

Also Briefer's version of the Frankenstein creature resembles Bernard Bailey's version in the Spawn of Frankenstein feature for THE PHANTOM STRANGER, back in the '70s.

Well, you and Daryl have talked me into it. Ive gotta check this out. I need to do some snooping around to see what reproductions are out there, as well as the one you mentioned.

Ostensibly it is factually true that each book was like the other and yet I felt that each had its own identity. In each book there is one host and his or her story anchors the book, while the others are guests in the book. Maybe not to the degree that Joe Orlando's DC books played up this reality, but still that's the feeling I get. THE HAUNT OF FEAR stands out because it's anchored by "Ghastly" Ingels' work on the Old Witch stories. Each artist gave a different tone to the stories, so THE HAUNT OF FEAR seems to be more in the category of gore.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT is a great title for a comic book (or a movie or a TV show) and that sets it apart. The Crypt Keeper is a better name for a host than the Old Witch or the Vault Keeper. That book feels like it's the leader, the top book. I read it as the more subversive book--critiquing the bland 1950s society that hides their skeletons in closets. I associate Jack Davis with this title.

THE VAULT OF HORROR feels like it has to take a back seat to the TALES FROM THE CRYPT. it's just not quite that special. And Johnny Craig, while a good artist, doesn't stand out. It's a sleeper kind of title. I associate the Vault Keeper's stories with those you might hear on old time radio--thrilling stories, but not over the top horror.

Another 1950s publisher of horror that many may not have heard of was Superior Comics in Canada. They were the Canadian publisher for the EC titles, but they did briefly publish their own line of horror comics that were sometimes nearly as good as EC. You can read more about them on my blog, WEIRD AND STRANGE.

Im glad you took the time to explain this. And I also will be visiting your blog from time to time. Cool stuff.