Adventures into the Unknown #49
In "The Sheriff and the Witch!", a dying gang leader makes a desperate pact with Satan to avoid eternal torment—only to have his fate upended when his wife cremates him instead of burying him, voiding the deal. Written and illustrated by Dick Beck with inks by Art Gates, this 1953 tale from American Comics Group blends noir dread with supernatural stakes. The cover, by Ken Bald, captures the eerie tension of a man caught between life, death, and damnation.
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Gang leader Frankie Boll realizes that he is dying of a rare disease. Terrified of burning in Hell after he dies, he makes a pact with Satan to spare him suffering in Hell in exchange for killing as many gang members as possible to supply Satan with more souls. Afterwards Satan puts Frankie in a death like coma and will obtain his soul after Frankie is buried. Frankie can live in Hell but will not suffer any torment. Problem is after he dies, Frankie is cremated by his wife and is never buried thus canceling the contract. Frankie now has no choice but to burn in Hell for all eternity!
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).