Grave Business and Other Stories

The EC Artists' Library #13

by Graham Ingels, Al Feldstein

Even in an era of explicit horror films, “Ghastly” Graham Ingels still delivers a shock to readers with his grisly depictions of the stomach-churning fates of the evil men (and women) in these stories—leavened only by a sly wink to the reader and a generous dose of dreadful puns. Ingels’s brushwork oozes ominously across every panel, perfectly setting the mood for the shudder-inducing fates of such corrupt characters as the sadistic asylum director, the political candidate who murders his opponent, the ventriloquist with the homicidal “dummy,” the millionaire who persecutes an aged junkman, and the medieval duke who runs over a young boy with his carriage then taxes the peasants to pay for cleaning up his victim’s blood. Like every book in the Fantagraphics EC line, Grave Business And Other Stories superbly showcases these classic comic book masterpieces and enhances the reader’s experience with commentary and historical and biographical detail from EC experts.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

Graham J. Ingels was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt, horror titles written and edited by Al Feldstein, and The Vault of Horror, written and edited by Feldstein and Johnny Craig.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grave Business and Other Stories is a collection of EC Comics stories illustrated by Graham Ingels.

After reading EC books featuring Wally Wood and Jack Davis, I was skeptical about whether or not Graham Ingels could continue the hot streak. His art features a lot of little lines and doesn't have the bold punchiness of either Wood or Davis. However, the first and last panels of the second page of Jury Duty won me over. One depicts a man walking to his execution with the shadow of the gallows behind him. The other is a down the trapdoor shot after the execution. I was hooked.

There are 27 stories between the covers of Grave Business, including the title one about a crooked funeral home owner and his ridiculous markups. Like all EC stories, he gets what's coming to him. The tales range cover such diverse subjects as Frankenstein's monster, vampires, werewolves, taxidermy, spiders, a ventriloquist dummy, crooked orphanage proprietors, cheating wives, cheating husbands, and much, much more.

Like I said earlier, I wasn't enthralled with Ingels' art at first but Ghastly Graham grew on me in a hurry. His fine line work made some pages look like woodcuts. Black and white is probably the best way to look at a lot of his pages. I would think color would just muddy things up. My favorite art of all was probably in Ooze In The Cellar. Graham Ingels knows his way around a pseudopod.

Grave Business was the third Fantagraphics collection of EC Horror I've read and the best one yet. Four out of five stars.

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have vivid memories of going through my older brother's comic book collection when I was kid. He was a big fan of the many different Marvel superheroes and rarely missed picking up the latest Spider Man or X-Men offering. He would also hit garage sales with my grandma and use his allowance to pick up box after box filled with comics that some parent was selling off now that their kid had grown up and didn't read them anymore. Years later, these same grown up children would lament when they would learn that their old comic collections was now worth a king's ransom, but was sold off by their unknowing parents years ago. While I did enjoy Marvel's superheroes (The Hulk was the one I gravitated towards), the ones that I really liked were the older EC comic's The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, and Tales From the Crypt. I would be mesmerized for hours going through the dog-eared copies that had the most amazing illustrations. Keep in mind, this was the late 1970s/early 1980s and kids read their comics - over and over. They didn't keep them in pristine condition in protective plastic. So read those EC tales I did and I loved them. When I stumbled onto the Grave Business collection on Amazon, I couldn't click BUY fast enough. And so the walk down Memory Lane began...

Grave Business is chock full of gothic tales of revenge and mean people getting what they deserve. Sure it all follows a predictable formula, but the stories are so entertaining, so reminiscent of horror stories you've read from many of the greats. Then, you realize that those stories were written many years after Graham Ingels drew them for EC and you can't help but wonder how many horror authors were heavily influenced by those beautifully drawn macabre tales. Grave Business also includes the tragic story detailing how horror comics were considered to be the root of all evils amongst children and that there was even a congressional hearing that caused the comic industry to impose a code of ethics that basically sounded the death knell on horror comics, EC, and the lively hood of their talented creators. Entertaining AND educational. I loved Grave Business and I think you will too.

5 bubbling cauldrons out of 5


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[EC Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious! If there is one comic artist who justifies the black and white 'artist series' treatment, it's Graham Ingels. This is incredible, better than the color stories. All four volumes of them are essential; this is the second, presenting all his work in chronological order. The writing is getting to it's sharpest, much like his line style. The quality overall here is the most consistent, though they all have highlights that rank right along the top with the greatest horror art ever: Goya's Black Paintings, Bosch's folding panels, and the EC work of Graham Ingels.
It begins with five classics, right in a row: "Jury Duty", "The Works In Wax", "Revenge Is The Nuts", "Hounded To Death", and "Horror Under The Big Top". You begin to see the themes and tropes develop, but they have not yet begun to become even close to tired; the first three of those stories offer remarkably effective variations on the same 'mob vengeance' ending, yet each is just as chilling and inventive as the last.
"A Tree Grows In Borneo" and "A Sucker For A Spider" are each worth the price of this book alone, truly masterpieces that demand to be seen in black and white. Pushing the angularity and sharpness of his visuals to a delirious maximum in highly vegetated jungle settings, this is some of the best art EC produced.
That goes ditto for "Staired in Horror", "Ooze in the Cellar", and "Friend to Our Boys", in which Ingels gives us three completely different masterpieces in uniquely spooked out old houses, with three truly creepy comeuppances.
"The Ventriloquists Dummy" is yet another all time classic of the creepy doll genre, and also another genre I won't spoil if you don't know it. "Halloween" is worthy of it's namesake and "Poetic Justice" offers exactly that.
"Grave Business", the title story, is definitely one of the better funeral parlor tales (there's too many of those in later volumes). "Buried Treasure" is a delicious period piece which closes this volume (27 stories) with stomach churning delight, and is a fitting epigram for this most fruitful period of an artist who would be done in three years. Treasure indeed. RIP

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's some messed-up stuff here, no doubt about it.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grave Business And Other Stories is a fine collection from Fantagraphics Books showcasing Graham “Ghastly” Ingels’ horror art. Bookended by an introduction to the content, plus biographies of the creators and a history of EC Comics, these stories display Ingels’ expertise at portraying interesting characters and capturing their emotional reactions to unfolding events. His busy panels are full of contrasting shadows, decrepit details and disturbing creatures – human or otherwise – and there’s a playful sense of grotesque humour throughout, in both words and images, which equally entertains and intrigues.

Most of these tales have neat setups that show great promise, however, the momentum sometimes stalls despite a strong beginning, and the storyline then fails to engage as anticipated. Furthermore, the conclusions rarely deliver anything other than an expected ending without great twists or shocks, or even add the thrill of a particularly imaginative comeuppance for the evil protagonist. Having never previously read any of these stories I was hoping for greater surprises and numerous grisly climaxes, but the genuinely shocking moments are few and far between.

Although not overly clever or chilling, it’s still a very nicely packaged collection, and the reproduction of the original art is rather good. There are plenty of other artists featured in further titles released in the series, so lovers of horror comics should be able to find a collection that suits their interests.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. With Grave Business, I've come to the conclusion that 'Ghastly' Graham Ingels is low on my list of EC artists. His figures with their 'rictus' grins and his heavy lines clutter the page and I don't feel he was given the best stories to work with either. I enjoyed the Old Witch character though, who narrates everything here, some of that weird nostalgia for the Tales From the Cryptkeeper animated series, and her function like a late night public access horror movie host (although maybe the influence is the other way around, considering these are from the 40s & 50s).

[Christina Barzdukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky in a vintage, gory fun way. 50s horror that shines strong

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t like this. The writing was a bit derivative and I really wasn’t a fan of the brushwork.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

me and the old witch are bffs

[Víctor Segovia · Rating 5 out of 5]

un excelente recopilatorio, lo considero mucho más maduro y arriesgado en comparación con los otros que he tenido la oportunidad de leer

[Mike Hunchback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantagraphics' artists editions are among the absolute best reproductions of EC comics out there ... essential series.

[Chip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love me some EC Comics