Stories in this issue…
“The Thing From The Grave!” cover by Al Feldstein, story hosted by The Crypt Keeper.

“Blood Type ‘V’!” by Graham Ingels.

“Death’s Turn!” by Jack Kamen, hosted by The Old Witch.

“The Curse Of The Arnold Clan!” illustrated by Johnny Craig and hosted by The Vault Keeper.

“…blasted voodoo drums! They’ve been beating incessantly ever since the night I murdered my wife!…I wonder what those natives are up to?”

This second issue was one of the first New Trends to hit the stands. It boasted a Johnny Craig cover, and interior art by Craig, Al Feldstein, Wally Wood, and Harvey Kurtzman. It had the first EC horror story for both Wood and Kurtzman.

Johnny Craig – The Crypt of Terror #17 Cover Original Art (EC, 1950). Certainly one of the most historic pieces of horror comic art, this is arguably the first horror cover ever produced by EC. The last two issues of War Against Crime and Crime Patrol are decidedly EC horror books, but Gaines still hedged his bet; they remained crime comics, if only in title. However, with Crypt of Terror #17 and Vault of Horror #12, Gaines threw caution (and, some would say, good taste) to the four winds and took the plunge. He let his imagination, and the talents of his artists, run rampant, and comic book history took a dramatic turn. The result was that EC’s graphically violent covers and stories sold very well. Of course, this bred myriad imitators, all trying to out-do one another in the grue-and-gore department. Ultimately, psychologists, social reformers and Senator Kefauver’s Senate hearings put a stake in the heart of Bill Gaines’ horror-based empire. Often imitated but never duplicated, their like has not been seen since. The cover here, while not as graphic as later efforts, is one of Craig’s finer pieces. The detail is exquisite, particularly the alley cat foraging for its dinner. All of the type, including the logo, is hand drawn.