Mobsters, murders, mayhem — and mummies, too!
Al Feldstein was the co-architect and construction chief of EC Comics, and in this volume, you can see him laying the foundation for everything to come.
This collection of Feldstein's pioneering work features all of the stories he wrote and drew for both EC's original crime titles (War Against Crime and Crime Patrol) and for EC's terror triumvirate — Tales From the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, and Vault of Horror, including the very first appearances of The Crypt-Keeper and the Vault-Keeper.
With complete control over his work as both scripter and illustrator, this was Feldstein's heyday. His bold, confidant brushwork perfectly suits the pulpy noir-ish atmosphere of his crime capers (often involving wronged women and vengeful men — or vice versa). The same is true of the escalating sense of dread of his horror stories — inexorably building to the sudden "poetic justice" story twist at the end that was the hallmark of EC horror.
Conniving men, scheming women, and plots steeped in deceit abound in such crime tales as "The Machine-Gun Mad Mobsters," "The Case of the Floating Corpse," and "I Was a 'B'-Girl," as well as in such horror gems as "The Mummy’s Curse," "The Thing in the Swamp!" and, of course, our title story, "Terror Train." Plus: the most unlikely origin story of them all — the tongue-in-cheek origin of EC Comics itself, in "Horror Beneath the Streets!" More than 30 stories in all, with essays and commentary by EC experts.
Story Titles
- The Treasure of Timberline Top (Saddle Justice #3, Spring 1948)
- The Case of the Savage Strongboy (War Against Crime #3, Fall 1948)
- Double-Crossed (Crime Patrol #9, Winter 1948)
- The Machine-Gun Mad Mobster (War Against Crime #4, Winter 1948)
- Dance-Hall Racket (Crime Patrol #10, February-March 1949)
- The Law's Revenge! (War Against Crime #5, February-March 1949)
- Victor Wolf & Sam Bart: Kidnappers (Crime Patrol #11, April-May 1949)
- Money-Hungry (War Against Crime #6, April-May 1949)
- Nell Baker (Crime Patrol #12, June-July 1949)
- Your Newsdealer - He Is Your Friend! (War Against Crime #7, June-July 1949)
- The Craig Gang (War Against Crime #7, June-July 1949)
- The Last Round (War Against Crime #8, August-September 1949)
- Your Newsdealer - He Is Your Friend! (War Against Crime #8, August-September 1949)
- The Case of the Floating Corpse! (Crime Patrol #14, October-November 1949)
- The Fatal Turn (War Against Crime #9, October-November 1949)
- Our Families Clashed! (Modern Love #3, October-November 1949)
- Case Number 318: Murder (Crime Patrol #15, December 1949-January 1950)
- Return From the Grave! (Crime Patrol #15, December 1949-January 1950)
- Buried Alive! (War Against Crime #10, December 1949-January 1950)
- I Was A 'B'-Girl! (Modern Love #4, December 1949-January 1950)
- The Spectre In the Castle! (Crime Patrol #16, February-March 1950)
- The Mummy's Curse! (War Against Crime #11, February-March 1950)
- Death Must Come! (The Crypt of Terror #17, April-May 1950)
- Terror Train (Vault of Horror #12, April-May 1950)
- The Thing In the Swamp! (Haunt of Fear #15, May-June 1950)
- The Maestro's Hand! (The Crypt of Terror #18, June-July 1950)
- The Dead Will Return! (Vault of Horror #13, June-July 1950)
- Ghost Ship! (The Crypt of Terror #19, August-September 1950)
- The Strange Couple! (Vault of Horror #14, August-September 1950)
- The Love Story To End All Love Stories! (Modern Love #8, August-September 1950)
- Horror Beneath the Streets! (Haunt of Fear #17, September-October 1950)
- The Thing From the Sea! (Tales From the Crypt #20, October-November 1950)
- Hong Kong Intrigue! (Two-Fisted Tales #18, November-December 1950)
- A Shocking Way To Die! (Tales From the Crypt #21, December 1950-January 1951)
- Escape! (Vault of Horror #16, December 1950-January 1951)
- The Thing From the Grave! (Tales From the Crypt #22, February-March 1951)
- Reflection of Death! (Tales From the Crypt #23, April-May 1951)
Note: The digital edition (8/11/2020) for this volume was released before the print edition.
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