Tales from the Crypt [Comic Book Monsters]

It’s that time again, boys and girls!  That’s right ACB’s Comic Book Monsters has returned!  This year, I’ll be looking at a slice of some of the creepiest comic book series of all time!  I’ll be covering a series a day in reverse chronological order.  So, check under your beds and lock the doors and windows.  It’s time to take a look at today’s featured series…

Comic Book Monsters – October 30th: Tales from the Crypt

EC Comics was the leader in horror comics.  Their Crime SuspenStories and Shock SpenStories series proved that they weren’t afraid to do anything in comics.  Some might say that they were innovators in the idea of telling stories that broke racial boundaries and really emphasized on the whole idea of “crime does not pay”, even if most of the stories in those two series featured some truly depraved characters.  In the late 40s, they produced a series called War Against Crime, later renamed Crime Patrol.  While that series’s title lasted only about a year or so, what spun out of that would be one of the most famous, and well-loved, horror comic series of all time.

With Crime Patrol #15, editor Al Feldstein wrote a story called “Return from the Grave!” featuring a host named “The Crypt Keeper”.  The following issue also focused more heavily on horror stories than crime stories.  It turned out that there would be no Crime Patrol #17.  Instead, the Crypt Keeper would be the headlining honst of a new title called The Crypt of Terror (which took over the numbering of Crime Patrol with #17).  By issue #20, the title was renamed again to its more well-known title, Tales from the Crypt.

The Crypt Keeper wouldn’t be the only character to play a role in introducing stories.  He was also joined by “The Old Witch” and “The Vault Keeper”.  Obviously, the Crypt Keeper’s rotten appearance in the HBO series was what most people think when they hear his name, but, in the comics, he really wasn’t more than just a creepy old man reminiscent of the old, dark ages type of mystic weirdo than an actual corpse.  The Old Witch was actually the host of The Haunt of Fear while the Vault Keeper was the host of The Vault of Horror.  However, EC liked moving their hosts around as if they were all part of one big community.  Each series usually featured one story hosted by one of the other series’ hosts.  In other words, Tales from the Crypt, for example, would have two stories hosted by The Crypt Keeper, one story hosted by The Old Witch, and another by The Vault Keeper.  You could almost say it was comics’ first ever crossover and it happened in every issue for five years!

Obviously, Tales from the Crypt featured more purely horror type of stories than either of the series I discussed in yesterday’s feature.  There were werewolves and vampires and zombies and ghouls.  Like the two SuspenStories series, writers often called upon some of their more favorite stories to tell theirs.  Some of the more notable sources of stories came from H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ray Bradbury (only after Bradbury called them out on the use of his stories’ plots leading to a settlement that allowed EC to feature them).

Unfortunately, Tales from the Crypt was yet another casualty of Dr. Frederic Wertham’s attack on comics.  Despite William Gaines’ decision to end his horror comics by the end of 1954, one last issue of Tales from the Crypt was already completed.  Gaines moved forward with publishing it in the spring of 1955 making it (issue #46) the final issue of the original run on the series.

But like all good things that go bump in the night, Tales from the Crypt wouldn’t stay away forever.  In the mid-60s, Ballantine Books reprinted selected stories in a a series of anthologies.  Int he late 70s, those reprinted magazines were collected in black-and-white paperback form.  Then, in the 90s, Gemstone Publishing picked up the reprints and published newly colored versions for pretty much the whole decade.  More reprints are on the way before the end of the year too.

Of course, Tales from the Crypt would be best known for the adaptations that would later come.  In the early 70s, British filmmakers made a couple movies based on EC horror comics.  The first was 1972′s Tales from the Crypt that adapted a handful of the comics’ stories and starred Ralph Richardson as The Crypt Keeper, Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, and Patrick Magee (as well as several other popular British actors and actresses).  The following year, a “sequel” of sorts was released called The Vault of Horror that adapted tales from that series.

It’s clear that the EC style of horror was the inspiration to Stephen King and George Romero when they came together to make the first Creepshow movie.  Even the comic book stuff in that movie was drawn by EC vet Jack Kamen.  However, it was HBO that would bring the popularity of the series, and even more so The Crypt Keeper, back into the mainstream with their Tales from the Crypt television series.  The show lasted 7 full seasons and included adaptations of stories from the comics and fresh material.  It also featured a bevy of notable guest stars and directors.  Stars like Brad Pitt and John Lithgow (to name just two of the dozens that appeared) got to sink their teeth into little horror vignettes while other stars like Michael J. Fox and Tom Hanks got to direct along with other big time directors like Robert Zemeckis and Richard Donner.  Even the director of the 1972 film, Freddie Francis, got a chance to return to the series as a director of an episode.  The series was a staple of late night cable TV and sales of the DVDs since released have been solid.  The Crypt Keeper, now looking more like a corpse than an old creepy guy was a huge star and his wit and humor was always something you wanted to tune in for.

The series spun off into two feature films – 1995′s Demon Knight and 1996′s Bordello of Blood.  It even spun off into a Saturday morning cartoon show.  I kid you not…  Tales from the Cryptkeeper featured animated tales, minus most of the sex and violence of the HBO series, originally seen on ABC.  The first animated series often featured the Crypt Keeper’s old pals the Old Witch and the Vault Keeper who were often at odds with our series lead.  By the end of the 90s, CBS revived the series, but due to new regulations, the series suffered from watered down morality lessons.  Not only that, but there was a kids’ game show hosted by the Crypt Keeper called Secrets of the Cryptkeeper’s Haunted House.  It’s amazing to think how much people tried to make this rotting corpse of a character kid friendly.  But then again, the Crypt Keeper always had a certain something to him that made him seem like the perfect buddy or babysitter for kids.

We’ve reached the end of today’s Comic Book Monsters.  Tomorrow is Halloween!  That means we’re also at the end of our month-long trip through the some of the most famous monster comics of all time.  I’ve decided to out with a bang with a DC Comics character that may have started out more of a detective that looked like a ghost, but later became best known as a spirit of god’s vengeance.  Come back tomorrow for the final Comic Book Monsters of 2011!

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