The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #2

In "The Werewolf Legend," a man tormented by the belief that he’s a murderer cursed by a family curse confronts Scotland Yard, convinced he’s a werewolf. As the investigation unfolds, the line between madness and manipulation blurs, and the truth behind the killings begins to unravel in a chilling twist.

In "The Mad Magician," a master of both ancient and modern illusions sets out to perform the ultimate trick: sawing a man in half and restoring him whole. But when fate itself seems to take up the act, the magician may find that even the most perfect illusion can have a mind of its own.

In "The Living Corpse," a magician's dark performance takes a deadly turn when he strikes his assistant with a snake ring, setting off a chilling chain of events. As he tries to cover his tracks by playing dead to erase the snake's mark, his desperate act spirals into a grim game of survival—locking himself in a morgue freezer while the attendant succumbs to a fatal heart attack.

In the shadowed halls of Harkley Heath, the last descendants of a cursed family gather to claim their inheritance—only to learn the fortune has been left to a distant cousin, Miss Sybil. When the brothers, driven by greed and the lingering wrath of their uncle’s dying curse, plot to silence her with the same morphine that killed him, they unleash something far worse than they imagined. A chilling tale of blood, betrayal, and the price of greed, where the dead do not stay buried.

In "Death's Double-Cross," a lonely woman finds unexpected passion in her husband’s twin brother, leading to a dangerous plan to eliminate John. As the siblings believe their scheme has succeeded, a small, telling detail—a mole on Ronald’s cheek—begins to stir doubt in Ruth’s mind.

In "Man from the Grave," a struggling artist, pushed to the edge by poverty, commits a desperate act that binds him to an unspeakable curse. After killing a rival to steal his prized paints, the dying man’s final words condemn him to paint—forever, even after death.

In "Terror Ride!", a deranged operator of a roadside 'tunnel of love' ride takes his twisted artistry to a horrifying extreme, replacing his gaudy wax figures with the eerily lifelike bodies of his victims—turning his spectacle of macabre amusement into a chilling reality that no guest will ever forget.

In "Horror in the Freak Tent!", a carnival's knife thrower is brutally blinded by the show's owner in a fit of rage, but the other performers—those deemed freaks by society—plot a chilling act of retribution. Bound and gagged, the owner is strapped to a board as the blinded thrower, guided by the freaks' whispered cues, hurls knives with deadly precision.

In "Faced with Horror!", two bank robbers, Sam and Willie, flee after a violent crime, only to find their escape complicated by a single photograph taken by a terrified employee. When one of them, Brogen, is identified, he undergoes plastic surgery to vanish—but the results are grotesquely wrong, turning his desperate attempt to disappear into something far more terrifying.

So They Finally Pinned You Down! follows a nameless drifter who awakens to a terrifying new hunger after being turned by a vampire. Haunted by fleeting visions of a woman he can’t remember, he hunts through the night, mistaking each victim for her—only to realize too late what he’s become. As the townspeople close in, his confusion turns to dread, and the truth of his fate arrives not in understanding, but in silence.

In "Scared to Death!", a man marries a woman solely to inherit her uncle's fortune, but when the wait drags on, he drags her into a plan to kill the uncle. As guilt shadows her and his patience wears thin, he devises a new scheme to eliminate her—only to find that Uncle Alex has a few surprises of his own.

In "Judy, You're Not Yourself Today!", a seemingly ordinary day takes a chilling turn when a man’s young wife is suddenly replaced by an old crone who claims to be her. As the wife’s body begins to betray her with strange, unsettling changes, the husband must navigate a terrifying game of deception and fear—where the line between identity and possession blurs with every passing moment.

In "The Guilty!", a bigoted sheriff pins a black man’s death on a white woman based on a false confession from the real killer. When the suspect is executed in the woods, the sheriff claims he tried to escape—leaving the truth buried in the shadows.

In "Hate!", a man finds himself drawn into a chilling act of arson against a Jewish couple—until a devastating revelation from his mother upends everything he thought he knew about his own identity. The story grips with quiet dread as buried truths surface, forcing a reckoning with the past and the dangerous power of inherited prejudice.

In "The Bribe!", a guilt-ridden fire inspector takes his own life after a nightclub fire erupts, believing his daughter perished in the blaze—despite the fact that she and her fiancé had secretly eloped earlier that night and never attended the show. The tragedy unfolds in the shadow of a single photograph, a moment frozen in time that distorts reality and fuels a man’s desperate, fatal conviction.

In "The Assault!", Lucy returns home claiming she was kidnapped and assaulted by the reclusive Hodges—though her story doesn’t add up. As suspicion turns to violence and the old man meets a brutal end, Lucy’s lover, caught between guilt and loyalty, faces a decision that will define his honor in the darkest of ways.

In "Came the Dawn!", a man’s growing unease turns to dread when a mysterious girl appears in the woods, eerily matching the description of a dangerous escaped lunatic. As his fear deepens, the true threat reveals itself in a chilling twist that leaves his girlfriend in grave peril.

In "...So Shall Ye Reap!", a young man faces execution in the electric chair, his final thoughts drifting to a childhood shaped by his parents’ choices. As he recalls the past, his parents, unaware of his fate, sit at home reflecting on the same memories—but with a very different understanding. The story unfolds through their contrasting recollections, revealing how the same events can carry vastly different meanings.

A Korean War veteran returns to his hometown with a simmering anger, confronting the community over the injustice of his Black friend’s burial—denied a resting place in the local cemetery despite the sacrifice that saved his life. In Gratitude... unfolds as a quiet but searing exploration of memory, racism, and the weight of gratitude that goes unacknowledged.

In "Fall Guy," a man released after serving a 15-year sentence for stealing $100,000 from a diamond merchant returns to the city where it all began, drawn by a promise from a woman who claimed she’d wait for him. When he can’t recall the name he used to secure the stolen money—years in advance—he’s met with fury and betrayal, leading to a violent clash that ends in a desperate leap from a rooftop. As he lies broken on the pavement, the fading glow of a neon sign reveals the name he could never remember: Brad Gilbert.

In "The Whipping," a small town fractures under the weight of prejudice when a new group of Mexican-American residents forms a vigilante force in response to rising tensions. When a man’s hatred turns deadly after his daughter marries a man from the new community, the town’s simmering rage erupts into a reckoning that no one sees coming.

In "The Confidant," a weary boy named Jimmy is visited by a stranger who arrives with quiet purpose and a troubling past. As whispers spread about a killer on the loose—a young man accused of murdering a nineteen-year-old girl—the townspeople grow increasingly hostile, turning on the visitor with violent fury. When the stranger refuses to break the sacred trust of a confession, the mob's rage reaches a terrifying peak.