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Tales from the Crypt Graphic Novels #2
Tales from the Crypt #2: Can You Fear Me Now?: Can You Fear Me Now?
More scary comics stories sure to shock!
The original EC comicbook series inspired a generation of young filmmakers, including Stephen Spielberg, John Carpenter, and George Lucas, as well as authors such as Stephen King and R.L. Stine. Who knows which future superstars' minds will be warped by this volume's collection of creepy comics?
"The Garden" is the shocking tale of a man named Richard, who is promised beautiful
women waiting on him hand and foot in paradise, all in exchange for completing one simple task. "Extra Life" shows Andy Dabbstein's worst nightmare come to life, when what happens to him in virtual online fantasy game, "Ogre Continent," also happens to him in reality. "Crystal Clear" offers a frightening look at what happens to a gangster, with cell phone technology imbedded in his head, when one of his victims seeks revenge.
"Slabbed" depicts the dire consequences of what can happen to you if you sell a priceless collector's comicbook to the wrong dealer. All stories introduced by The Crypt-Keeper, and his fellow GhouLunatics, The Old Witch and The Vault-Keeper, in classic pun-filled CRYPT-style.
The original EC comicbook series inspired a generation of young filmmakers, including Stephen Spielberg, John Carpenter, and George Lucas, as well as authors such as Stephen King and R.L. Stine. Who knows which future superstars' minds will be warped by this volume's collection of creepy comics?
"The Garden" is the shocking tale of a man named Richard, who is promised beautiful
women waiting on him hand and foot in paradise, all in exchange for completing one simple task. "Extra Life" shows Andy Dabbstein's worst nightmare come to life, when what happens to him in virtual online fantasy game, "Ogre Continent," also happens to him in reality. "Crystal Clear" offers a frightening look at what happens to a gangster, with cell phone technology imbedded in his head, when one of his victims seeks revenge.
"Slabbed" depicts the dire consequences of what can happen to you if you sell a priceless collector's comicbook to the wrong dealer. All stories introduced by The Crypt-Keeper, and his fellow GhouLunatics, The Old Witch and The Vault-Keeper, in classic pun-filled CRYPT-style.
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 26, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 31, 2021
DNFed. This was newer material, and the art was so bad that it was distracting from the stories which seemed kinda blah too.
December 31, 2023
This book was a present (one of the best I recall). I read it in a couple of hours on the day I received it (31/12/2023). It was the best book to end a year of reading, that took my appreciation of comics to a whole new level. It was a pure pleasure. It was the best of times.
June 29, 2024
Although the art is mediocre, and the stories were kind of expected, it was still a fun-read, that I wouldn't have wanted to miss!
Obviously, "Slabbed" was my favourite story.
Obviously, "Slabbed" was my favourite story.
July 19, 2017
Creepy art, creepy stories, I love these books!
September 21, 2023
3.5 This series brings back soo many memories of the show Tales From The Crypt. It wasn’t the same, though…
December 8, 2023
My husband found a bunch of these at our local thrift store last week, so I thought I'd give them a go.
Here's what I thought of each story:
A MURDERIN' IDOL by Mort Todd features a talentless hack called Jaysan, who enters Popstar Idol in hopes of winning. Though he needs a little demonic help along the way and finds himself in a very hellish situation...
This story is short, simple, and is introduced by the Crypt-Keeper. It showcases the crap people are willing to do to get what they want, and how it's never what it seems.
CRYSTAL CLEAR by Don McGregor features Stony, a drug dealer with a very special phone and a lot of violence in mind. But he meets his match at a funeral...
This story is introduced by the Old Witch, because the Crypt-Keeper is busy on the 'world-wide web of horror'. 😅 It showcases how assholes who think they're better than everyone else can find themselves in a lot of trouble.
SLABBED! by Stefan Petrucha features Derrick, a terrible boy who steals his half-brother's valuable comic book and finds himself in a very strange situation...
This story is introduced by the Old Witch, and showcases a little asshole who tries to pay off a debt by stealing from another. Loved the ending!
THE GARDEN by Fred Van Lente features Richard, a man who seems to have inherited a beautiful new house and a lovely garden, but is actually something much more sinister...
This story is once again introduced by the Crypt-Keeper. It showcases a horrible, shitty man who did something atrocious and is now going to pay for it. Forever.
Although every story is very different, the running theme seems to be: assholes who do terrible things, get what they deserve. Hey, I'm down with that! As for the art, it definitely fit the mood of these stories.
Here's what I thought of each story:
A MURDERIN' IDOL by Mort Todd features a talentless hack called Jaysan, who enters Popstar Idol in hopes of winning. Though he needs a little demonic help along the way and finds himself in a very hellish situation...
This story is short, simple, and is introduced by the Crypt-Keeper. It showcases the crap people are willing to do to get what they want, and how it's never what it seems.
CRYSTAL CLEAR by Don McGregor features Stony, a drug dealer with a very special phone and a lot of violence in mind. But he meets his match at a funeral...
This story is introduced by the Old Witch, because the Crypt-Keeper is busy on the 'world-wide web of horror'. 😅 It showcases how assholes who think they're better than everyone else can find themselves in a lot of trouble.
SLABBED! by Stefan Petrucha features Derrick, a terrible boy who steals his half-brother's valuable comic book and finds himself in a very strange situation...
This story is introduced by the Old Witch, and showcases a little asshole who tries to pay off a debt by stealing from another. Loved the ending!
THE GARDEN by Fred Van Lente features Richard, a man who seems to have inherited a beautiful new house and a lovely garden, but is actually something much more sinister...
This story is once again introduced by the Crypt-Keeper. It showcases a horrible, shitty man who did something atrocious and is now going to pay for it. Forever.
Although every story is very different, the running theme seems to be: assholes who do terrible things, get what they deserve. Hey, I'm down with that! As for the art, it definitely fit the mood of these stories.
March 11, 2022
For those that don't know, Tales From the Crypt and similar books from EC Comics were the poster children for parental paranoia and why we had to suffer through the Silver Age where stakes went way down, humor went way up, and comics sucked but nobody wanted to admit it.
I always thought this was weird because almost all of these stories were morality tales, mostly about how you can't cheat your way ahead in life. You would think the parents would love the fact that their kids were eating up morality tales like they were candy.
Okay, MAYBE a baseball team playing a game with their opponents guts as field markers was a bit extreme.
But the pop culture shift to parents suddenly caring about what their kids were reading (blaming the media for questionable kids is a more accurate statement) caught fire and went worldwide. Suddenly you couldn't buy graphic comics, crime comics, relationship comics aimed at adults (not to be confused with pornographic comics).
Anyway, this re-do on the TftC concept collects a few stories, but only one felt like it ticked the same boxes as the classic and I wasn't a big fan. They tried to be clever far too often and seemed to confuse the old comics where the host would make a ton of puns with the entirety of the story. Puns were EVERYWHERE and they were tiresome. One story about a suicide bomber being trapped in his own personal hell with the victims from the bombing was pretty nifty, but the rest were shallow.
The best I can say is that it made me want to order the collections of old EC Comics.
I always thought this was weird because almost all of these stories were morality tales, mostly about how you can't cheat your way ahead in life. You would think the parents would love the fact that their kids were eating up morality tales like they were candy.
Okay, MAYBE a baseball team playing a game with their opponents guts as field markers was a bit extreme.
But the pop culture shift to parents suddenly caring about what their kids were reading (blaming the media for questionable kids is a more accurate statement) caught fire and went worldwide. Suddenly you couldn't buy graphic comics, crime comics, relationship comics aimed at adults (not to be confused with pornographic comics).
Anyway, this re-do on the TftC concept collects a few stories, but only one felt like it ticked the same boxes as the classic and I wasn't a big fan. They tried to be clever far too often and seemed to confuse the old comics where the host would make a ton of puns with the entirety of the story. Puns were EVERYWHERE and they were tiresome. One story about a suicide bomber being trapped in his own personal hell with the victims from the bombing was pretty nifty, but the rest were shallow.
The best I can say is that it made me want to order the collections of old EC Comics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2017
I was able to garner the rest of the collection (sans #1, which I borrowed from my local library) from Goodreads.com! What a boon that site has become for me.
I got turned onto this series while a substitute teacher for 5th Grade at Ross ES here in Lancaster, PA when a young lady was reading the Dead, Stinky Kid book as part of her Independent Reading time! It is such a kick that the types of comics that spawned Dr. Wertham's "Seduction of the Innocent" witch hunt campaign vs. comic books are being read openly in school. I once had an officer (I was a career enlisted), who upon noticing that I was never without a book, usually of the pulp fiction stripe, remark, "Well, I suppose that any reading is better than no reading, eh, Petty Officer Chandler?" You got that right, sir! In an age when kids hate to read, getting them to read anything is preferable!
The stories, while somewhat formulaic, have been updated to reflect a modern audience. For instance, one story refers to the practice of "slabbing" old, valuable comic books. Another is a take on a story that I read in an Atlas/Marvel reprint from the 1970s involving suicide & its aftermath. Still, it was a quick, enjoyable read as I spent my day at GWES as a substitute teacher.
I got turned onto this series while a substitute teacher for 5th Grade at Ross ES here in Lancaster, PA when a young lady was reading the Dead, Stinky Kid book as part of her Independent Reading time! It is such a kick that the types of comics that spawned Dr. Wertham's "Seduction of the Innocent" witch hunt campaign vs. comic books are being read openly in school. I once had an officer (I was a career enlisted), who upon noticing that I was never without a book, usually of the pulp fiction stripe, remark, "Well, I suppose that any reading is better than no reading, eh, Petty Officer Chandler?" You got that right, sir! In an age when kids hate to read, getting them to read anything is preferable!
The stories, while somewhat formulaic, have been updated to reflect a modern audience. For instance, one story refers to the practice of "slabbing" old, valuable comic books. Another is a take on a story that I read in an Atlas/Marvel reprint from the 1970s involving suicide & its aftermath. Still, it was a quick, enjoyable read as I spent my day at GWES as a substitute teacher.
January 11, 2017
Requested this from the library thinking it would be a bit more that just a large paperback sized book of only about 100 pages. And than the stories themselves are only lukewarm at that. The artwork is O.K. for what it is. Just kind of a disappointment overall.
September 24, 2019
A fun little collection of bizarre short stories. Nothing here that’s too memorable or too scary but it was still an enjoyable, short read.
July 13, 2023
Another 4 stories my favorite was a take on American idol. I really liked how they portrayed the British judge - Slaymon Bowell - a little scary a lot funny and I loved the story twist
February 28, 2016
I know that there are people that oppose this type of comic since it supposedly deals with things teenagers should not read (some fifty's mentality still exists), but these people don't actually read the stories. In this volume, at least, those who do evil suffer, extremely, for what they have done.
The first story deals with a guy who wants to become a rock star but makes no attempt to take care of the woman that stays with him. He lacks talent but refuses to recognize that. He ends up killing people to summon demons to help him get what he wants. He gets punished. (There's also an interesting stab at American Idol in the story.)
The second story is about a woman getting revenge on a drug dealer, while the next one is about a young boy who is willing to kill to get money to pay off some bully or something. The kid pays a far higher price than he expected. The final story is about a loser who works for the wrong people and ends up being severely punished.
In every story, good (or something like it) essentially wins over evil.
The first story deals with a guy who wants to become a rock star but makes no attempt to take care of the woman that stays with him. He lacks talent but refuses to recognize that. He ends up killing people to summon demons to help him get what he wants. He gets punished. (There's also an interesting stab at American Idol in the story.)
The second story is about a woman getting revenge on a drug dealer, while the next one is about a young boy who is willing to kill to get money to pay off some bully or something. The kid pays a far higher price than he expected. The final story is about a loser who works for the wrong people and ends up being severely punished.
In every story, good (or something like it) essentially wins over evil.
February 11, 2008
More fun, short scary stories told in the Tales From the Crypt tradition for younger readers looking for some gross-out goodness! I wish the stories were longer, though, but maybe the whole "leave 'em wanting more" sentiment is applicable here.
February 4, 2015
I thought that this was a very interesting book ,because its kind of like a "TERROR" book which makes you get the chills and makes you want to keep on reading to see what happens next.It also was a good book because it leaves you wanting to hear more stories.
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August 8, 2007I learned how to write the short, short story of my dreams
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews