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The EC Archives
The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror Volume 5
Dark Horse Comics brings even more macabrely majestic stories from the Vault! This terrifying tome has been digitally recolored--using Marie Severin's original palette as a guide--and features stories drawn by all-star comic artists Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis, Jack Kamen, Graham Ingels, and George Evans!
Collects Vault of Horror issues #36-#40 in full color!
Collects Vault of Horror issues #36-#40 in full color!
184 pages, Hardcover
Published January 8, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 21, 2020
Great last volume in this title's collection. EC comics as always are a joy to read and look at. Recommended
February 21, 2025
El último tramo de una colección que marcó la historieta estadounidense de horror se decanta por guiones truculentos y perversos, en complicidad con dibujos que no pierden su filoso esplendor gráfico. Un auténtico clásico.
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April 4, 2025Here it comes again, another explosive must-have volume of the best from EC Archives. Lovingly restored, with enhanced color, this edition is just as impressive as the four proceeding this one. This edition reprints issues 36-40 of The Vault Of Horror. EC was the home base for an amazing array of artists, among them Jack Davis, Joe Oralndo, Jack Kamen, Graham Ingels, George Evans, and others. It came complete with stories that were certain to shock and amuse, with unexpected endings that really hit the spot.
But the sad thing of all is, the comics featured here were the last in the series, EC having to direct its energies to other topics because there was quite an outcry about the nature of the horrors shown. Pretty tame of course looking at it today, but these stories were filled with not only true terrors, but also many had exceptional morals to them, where people got the wrong idea about people because of the way they looked and acted.
The book opens with Twin Bill, where a husband catches his wife cheating on him. He decides to murder them both, and then he digs a grave for the both of them. But something unexpected happens when he cannot find the keys to his car. It results in him having to dig up the bodies later. But he finds a lot more than the keys in the ground. Oh! Henry is another classic. A very old woman steals a loaf of bread to feed her elderly husband. He is an invalid. A detective lieutenant sees her do this, and wants to arrest her. The store owner tells him not to, but he wants the book thrown at her. He makes sure she pays with jail time, 60 days to be exact, leaving her husband alone, unable to fend for himself. When she gets out, he shows remorse, but sometimes remorse is not enough as justice is served in most unexpected ways.
There are so many other highlight stories including: Coffin Spell, Surprise Party, All For Gnawt, Two-Timed, Out Of Sight and many more. Since this the last volume of The Vault of Horror reprints, it definitely is a collector’s item, a must-have for comic lovers young and old.
But the sad thing of all is, the comics featured here were the last in the series, EC having to direct its energies to other topics because there was quite an outcry about the nature of the horrors shown. Pretty tame of course looking at it today, but these stories were filled with not only true terrors, but also many had exceptional morals to them, where people got the wrong idea about people because of the way they looked and acted.
The book opens with Twin Bill, where a husband catches his wife cheating on him. He decides to murder them both, and then he digs a grave for the both of them. But something unexpected happens when he cannot find the keys to his car. It results in him having to dig up the bodies later. But he finds a lot more than the keys in the ground. Oh! Henry is another classic. A very old woman steals a loaf of bread to feed her elderly husband. He is an invalid. A detective lieutenant sees her do this, and wants to arrest her. The store owner tells him not to, but he wants the book thrown at her. He makes sure she pays with jail time, 60 days to be exact, leaving her husband alone, unable to fend for himself. When she gets out, he shows remorse, but sometimes remorse is not enough as justice is served in most unexpected ways.
There are so many other highlight stories including: Coffin Spell, Surprise Party, All For Gnawt, Two-Timed, Out Of Sight and many more. Since this the last volume of The Vault of Horror reprints, it definitely is a collector’s item, a must-have for comic lovers young and old.
April 26, 2019
This was the end of the series, and it was obvious they were running out of ideas. The only memorable stories were All for Gnawt and Witch Witch Witch.
July 26, 2019
Creepy, smart scripts and unparalleled art from Craig, Davis, Krigstein, Ingels, Williamson, and Orlando.
January 9, 2023
Fantastic. This is the best single volume of Bernie Krigstein's work, with 4 stories, 3 of which are great: "Pipe Dream", "The Catacombs", and "The Pit". Also, Al Williamson's best horror story "Take Care", plus Johnny Craig in top form on his covers and stories, making this possibly his best gallery as well. The front cover, especially, is a stark beauty, one of my favorites. Davis has some killers with "Which Witch is Which?" and "Chop Talk". Ingels delivers the goods with "Ashes to Ashes" and the strangely haunting (and heavily allegorical) "Two-Timed". Although short at only five issues, this is perhaps the most packed volume of the title, which is saying a lot, and definitely the one of all EC comics that most clearly points to where the future of horror was going. Under-rated.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews