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A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
cream/ow pages
Johnny Craig story, cvr/art; 1st app. of Crypt Keeper and Crypt of Terror
Ruben Blades Copy


Crime Patrol #15 would be a classic collectible just for Johnny Craig's inspired cover where life (and death) imitates art. More importantly, however, that cover prominently promotes "an illustrated Terror-Tale from The Crypt of Terror!" That would be "Return from the Grave," marking both EC's first horror story and the first appearance of the Crypt Keeper!

"Return from the Grave" began as an experiment by EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines and editor Al Feldstein. The results, however, would change the comics industry. More horror was added to Crime Patrol #16, and the next issue simply changed the book's title to The Crypt of Terror. After two more issues, the book became Tales From the Crypt with issue #20. (EC could keep their existing second-class postal permits by continuing new titles with the previous numbering.)

The Crypt Keeper might seem unexpectedly alive in his debut here, introducing a tale of corrupt executives haunted by the man they drove to suicide. It would be nearly four decades before Our Host really came back from his own demise via the Comics Code Authority, becoming a cable-TV star with HBO's adaptations of Tales from the Crypt. By then, Crime Patrol #15 was one of the most neglected keys in comics. Today, however, this beloved book remains a top collectible in any grade.

(Collectors will note that Crime Patrol #15 proudly "Conforms to the Comics Code" attempted by the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers in 1948. The futility of that code is best demonstrated by how it appears on early EC Comics. The ACMP gave up on their review board in 1950, but Gaines kept displaying the stamp of approval on his titles.)