The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #15

In "Carrion Death!", a man handcuffed to a corpse struggles through a merciless desert, desperate to survive as vultures circle above. With no way to free himself from the dead man’s grip, he makes a grim choice—lying down to let scavengers devour the corpse, only to wake and find them already feeding on him.

In "From Here to Insanity," a killer hiding in plain sight takes refuge in an old woman’s apartment, believing he’s safe from detection—until he realizes she’s been silently watching every word he speaks. The twist is one he never saw coming, as the deaf woman’s quiet presence becomes a silent trap built from years of lip-reading and secrets.

In "Sweetie-Pie," a reporter investigating a series of gruesome car accidents—each victim drained of blood and marked with throat punctures—uncovers a chilling pattern: only four of sixteen bodies have been found. When he and his new bride are involved in a sudden crash, the truth begins to unravel: a grotesque predator has been luring drivers to their doom with roadside traps, feeding on the living.

In "Bloody Sure," a man marries a woman shunned by the townsfolk, who believe she’s a vampire after her five husbands mysteriously die. As he lies beside her each night, he begins to suspect the truth behind the rumors—only to realize his own dark nature may be the real horror.

In "The Killer," a man haunted by his father’s legacy finds his life upended when his wife’s secret comes to light. Jonathan, a man who never wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, has kept his grim profession hidden from Elsie—until the day she kills another man and is sentenced to die by the very same method he’s spent his life performing.

In "Memphis!", a tense naval clash unfolds on the Mississippi River as a formidable Confederate fleet advances toward the strategic town of Memphis, Tennessee, only to face the Union Navy in a pivotal and brutal engagement. The story captures the chaos and stakes of war through a grounded, action-driven narrative set against the river’s relentless current.

In "...Only Skin Deep!", a man's mysterious bride at Mardi Gras wears a hag mask that she refuses to remove, even as his curiosity turns to unease. As their marriage begins under the carnival's eerie glow, his growing frustration leads him to tear the mask from her face—only to confront a truth far more unsettling than he could have imagined.

In "Together They Lie!", a chilling tale of deception and dark consequence, Agnes and her boss’s attorney, Alex Fairfield, orchestrate a cruel hoax that drives their employer, Mr. Horton, to suicide. When Horton’s life unravels after believing his wife betrayed him, he alters his will and takes his own life—only to return in the most horrifying way. As Agnes and Alex celebrate their scheme, the dead man’s body crashes into their celebration, and the next morning, their own bodies are found on the Horton grave, the tombstone restored as if nothing had ever changed.

In "The Space Suitors," a woman and her lover plot to kill her husband during a mission to a remote planetoid, but his cunning twist on their plan turns the tables in a chilling game of survival. With the cold vastness of space as their silent witness, the stakes rise as deception and desperation collide.

In 19th-century Paris, a grieving man must choose between burying his wife or surrendering her body to medical students under a new city ordinance. After delivering her to the medical college, he uses the payment he receives to feed his children and secure a proper burial. But when the students discover the identity of the corpse they’ve been dissecting, the consequences begin to unfold.

In "Plane Murder," a high-stakes aerial daredevil named Phil attempts one final, deadly stunt—parachuting from a plane while handcuffed—knowing his rival Marty is already dead. But when his wife Milly uncovers the truth behind Marty’s crash, she plots a chilling act of revenge by tampering with the very key Phil relies on to free himself.

In the quiet ruins of a Martian town frozen in silence, Walter wanders through empty streets, haunted by the absence of life—until a distant phone rings, breaking the stillness. When he finally answers, he finds a voice on the line that leads him to a woman he never expected, forcing him to confront a strange new reality in a world where loneliness has a face.

In "Smoke Wrings," Hubert pitches a bold new ad concept to Miss Jackson for the Llama Cigarette Company, only to be betrayed when she claims the idea as her own and cuts him out of the profits. When he confronts her, the consequences are deadly—but the real horror begins when the billboard itself seems to turn on Lorna, unleashing a chilling retribution that defies reason.

In "The Kidnapper," a desperate father’s world unravels after his infant son is taken, plunging his wife into a spiral of grief that fractures her mind. As his own sanity frays, he makes a terrifying, misguided move that turns the crowd against him—only to face a fate as harrowing as the crime he never committed.

In "Battle!", General Aulus faces a grim reality: the Roman campaign against the British is stalled, and victory demands a costly bloodshed he’s unwilling to authorize. When Emperor Caesar and a mysterious civilian, Posides, propose a daring alternative—a win in just one day—the general must trust a plan that defies every military instinct.

In "Mother's Day," a fractured family's dark past erupts on a single, devastating day. Fred, haunted by years of resentment toward his favored brother Harold, takes the blame for a crime Harold committed, serving time while their mother, Donna, remains unaware of the truth. When Harold, cornered and desperate, strikes their mother, paralyzing her, the consequences spiral beyond control. Upon his release, Fred returns home to confront the wreckage—only to find his mother's silence more unbearable than any confession.

In "Upon Reflection," a boxer haunted by guilt over a fatal fight sees his own face twist into something monstrous—his hands and features slowly mirroring the beast he fears he’s become. Though a psychologist insists it’s all in his mind, the vision drives him to confront his reflection in a street mirror, where the horror deepens. As he reaches for the pistol in his coat, the moment hangs in silence, leaving only the echo of a shattered self and a stranger’s bewildered account of a trick mirror.

In Each and Every Package follows Norman and Sally, who have orchestrated a deadly plan to eliminate Norman’s wife so they can start a new life together in New York. After Sally undergoes plastic surgery to resemble the woman and perfects her voice, Norman carries out the murder, and the pair flee to the city, blending in as a happy couple. Their dream begins to unravel when they’re selected as contestants on a radio game show, winning $3,000—only to be stunned by a shocking twist: a film crew is back in Ohio, digging up the treasure at the very spot where Norman buried his wife.

In "This'll Kill You!", a chilling crime tale from The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #15, Victor Gattling walks into the police station with the corpse of his best friend Joe—only to claim he’s the one who killed him. What unfolds is a twisted confession built on betrayal, mistaken identity, and a prank gone horrifically wrong, where a single syringe and a cruel April Fool’s joke unravel a friendship with deadly consequences.

In "Return Blow," Alma and Luke scheme to secure a $250,000 inheritance by ingratiating themselves with the wealthy and reclusive Sanford Mansion's owner. Their desperate plan takes a deadly turn when Luke sends her a bomb in a package, only to have it returned after she dies of natural causes—leaving their scheme to unravel in the most explosive way possible.

In "For Cryin' Out Loud!", a fugitive embezzler on the run finds himself drawn to a woman he’s convinced he can fool with a new identity. But when she reveals she knows the truth—and demands money to stay silent—his world unravels in a moment of violence. Now haunted by guilt, he can’t stop the desperate need to confess, even to strangers who don’t know his name.