International Comics, International Crime Comics, Crime Patrol, The Crypt Of Terror and Tales From The Crypt (EC Comics)

Much like our prior post on Marvel Comic's Amazing Fantasy, EC Comics has an interesting history of title shifting before striking with lightning. Today we're taking a look at how EC Comics evolved several titles during the 1940's into one of the most beloved series of all time - Tales From The Crypt.

International Comics
EC Comics
1947

It all started in 1947 with the series International Comics. The stories focused mainly on satire style horror, and really didn't feature a cast of characters that were all that notable beyond the "monsters" that were terrifying each page.

Horror comics were popular among GI's returning from World War II who had grown tired of the super hero genre from their youth. These now adult males were more interested in tantalizing tales full of violence and sex.

 
International Crime Comics
EC Comics
1948

In 1948, EC shifted the title to a more crime (cops and robbers) type format. However, in doing so, they still kept the monster aspect intact for the series. International Crime Comics lasted for one issue, continuing the numbering scheme where International Comics left off, before the title was changed again.

Crime Patrol
EC Comics
1948 - 1950

Under the banner of Crime Patrol, the title continued the numbering from where International Crime Comics left off. This iteration of the series lasted for two years focusing on crime and monsters before change would come again.

The Crypt Of Terror
EC Comics
1950

Once again continuing the numbering scheme from its predecessor, The Crypt of Terror removed the crime aspect of the series, shifting the focal point of the series to that of straight up horror / murder. It was with this element that the book shifted into it's last, and most popular iteration...

Tales From The Crypt
EC Comics
1950 - 1955

Though many fans of the series know of it due to the vintage HBO series which featured a cackling Crypt Keeper ghoul, the comic book didn't actually feature this version of the character. Yes, there was a Crypt Keeper, but it was simply a mysterious with a cane, and long hair running down his face to hide his features. However, the Keeper was not limited to just hosting each story. He occasionally made appearances which stood to tell his biography in bits and pieces. Additional hosts in the series were the Vault Keeper, and Old Witch.

Tales From The Crypt ran from 1950 - 1955, and quickly became one of EC Comics most popular titles. Unfortunately by 1954, horror genre comics came under heavy fire by the public, and sales declined rapidly after that point.

Violent comics in general were being blamed for the decline in behavior of America's youth which all came to a head in a senate hearing which targeted comic books directly. Rather than be censored by an outside source, the comic industry agreed to form two groups - Comics Magazines Association of America (CMAA), and the more widely recognized Comics Code Authority (CCA). These groups placed strict stringent on comic book publishers, forbidding them to publish books with words such as terror and horror in their titles, and additionally forbid the depiction of what was deemed gruesome characters.

Seeing a no win situation, and feeling directly targeted, EC Comics shut its doors after releasing its final Tales From The Crypt issue in February / March 1955.

Tales From The Crypt would see a major resurgence in popularity in 1989 with the HBO series which ran for 93 episodes between 19898 and 1996. Theatrical movies were also produced and released with the banner throughout the years of this newly revived popularity. All of this helped to solidify EC Comics original comics in history - So we suppose they got the last laugh.

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Tales from the Cryptkeeper (Ace Novelty)

Happy Halloween, readers! What better way to celebrate than to bring you a post about monsters! Today is a treat for all of you. You get not one, not two, but THREE posts on toys pertaining to spookiness. So keep reading past this post for the other two!

Tales from the Cryptkeeper was a cartoon series which aired on ABC, based off of HBO's highly popular Tales from the Crypt live action series. The series was developed and produced by Nelvana Limited, PeaceArch Entertainment, kaBOOM! Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Animation, and lasted for two seasons between 1993 and 1994. The series was significantly milder than the live-action series, and followed more of a Scooby Doo theme from episode to episode.


In 1994, Ace Novelty produced a small toy line based on the series which lasted for eight figures, or two series of four figures each. The production was low, as was the quality.

With the exception of the Cryptkeeper, the names of the characters as well as the sculpts were nothing creative, and seemed more like an excuse to cash in on the series - Though between the cartoon and toys, the series never garnered a strong following.

Sadly, the most catching thing to the figures was the bright packaging. With a colorful combination of blue, green, and even the brown, it was easy to spot these figures on any toy isle shelf. However, that didn't necessarily mean that people were buying the toys, and they eventually ended up in the clearance bins of most stores.


The full series consists of the following figures;

SERIES 1

Crypt Keeper (Tuxedo)
The Mummy
The Vampire
The Werewolf

SERIES 2

Crypt Keeper (Robe)
The Frankenstein
The Gargoyle
The Zombie

Despite many secondary market dealers attempts to sell these figures, most go un-purchased. Each figure can readily be found mint on card ranging from $5.00 to $10.00, with whole lots going from $25.00 to $50.00 depending on whether or not people are actually looking for them at the time...Most people are not. This is probably due a lot in part to most people simply not knowing these toys even exist.


In 1997 the series was picked up again, and aired as The New Tales from the Cryptkeeper with an all new animation style. This reimaging of the series didn't last long either.

In 2007, kaBOOM! Entertainment of Toronto, Canada, released the complete 1993/1994 series on DVD. The series is still readily available on sites such as Amazon for a mere $9.99 per set.

While it wasn't the most interesting series of toys to date, it remains an iconic one. It was also a prime example of how independent toy companies were starting to carve out little niches in the toy isle. Although most of them failed and folded, it was a sign of things to come with fly by night toy companies, and random figures - (most destined for the clearance bin) which dominate a good section of toy isles today.

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