I have vivid memories of going through my older brother’s comic book collection when I was kid. He was a big fan of the many different Marvel superheroes and rarely missed picking up the latest Spider Man or X-Men offering. He would also hit garage sales with my grandma and use his allowance to pick up box after box filled with comics that some parent was selling off now that their kid had grown up and didn’t read them anymore. Years later, these same grown up children would lament when they would learn that their old comic collections was now worth a king’s ransom, but was sold off by their unknowing parents years ago. While I did enjoy Marvel’s superheroes (The Hulk was the one I gravitated towards), the ones that I really liked were the older EC comic’s The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, and Tales From the Crypt. I would be mesmerized for hours going through the dog-eared copies that had the most amazing illustrations. Keep in mind, this was the late 1970s/early 1980s and kids read their comics – over and over. They didn’t keep them in pristine condition in protective plastic. So read those EC tales I did and I loved them. When I stumbled onto the Grave Business collection on Amazon, I couldn’t click BUY fast enough. And so the walk down Memory Lane began…
Grave Business is chock full of gothic tales of revenge and mean people getting what they deserve. Sure it all follows a predictable formula, but the stories are so entertaining, so reminiscent of horror stories you’ve read from many of the greats. Then, you realize that those stories were written many years after Graham Ingels drew them for EC and you can’t help but wonder how many horror authors were heavily influenced by those beautifully drawn macabre tales. Grave Business also includes the tragic story detailing how horror comics were considered to be the root of all evils amongst children and that there was even a congressional hearing that caused the comic industry to impose a code of ethics that basically sounded the death knell on horror comics, EC, and the lively hood of their talented creators. Entertaining AND educational. I loved Grave Business and I think you will too.
5 bubbling cauldrons out of 5
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Into The Macabre 