Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives

St. Martins/Bruce Hamilton, New York, 1996. Hardcover with gilt/embossed textured cover. No Dust Jacket as issued.

Book is fine/unread. It was sealed in plastic from the publisher, but the plastic had become brittle and there were several spots where it was open and some dust got inside the wrapping. I took the book out of the wrapping to verify the condition of the book and signature/limitation pages.

NOTE: Some pictures show a glare, particularly on the glossy signed prints. These are from the camera and are not defects.

Limited Signed Edition - one of 500 copies.

More Pictures available upon request.

Please contact seller with any questions about item/condition.

Oversized and Heavy - will require extra postage.

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Tales From The Crypt: The Official Archives by Digby Diehl as published by St.Martin's Press and Hamilton Comics Ltd, 1996. This is one of the limited signed hardcover editions published by Bruce Hamilton's Hamilton Comics Ltd, with a signed bookplate inside the front cover. This "Bleached Bones" milky white edition is signed by seven of the original EC Comics artists and writers; Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Johnny Craig, Al Feldstein, Al Williamson, Marie Severin, and George Evans.

While St.Martin's Press published the hardcover trade editions and softcover editions, Bruce Hamilton had the rights to publish the limited edition versions. With the interior pages and contents being exactly the same, Hamilton Comics published four different; "Pricey Editions", each one limited and with different colored covers. Each of the four colored editions had EC ghoulish-names attached to them:

1. The brown cover version was called "Rotting Corpse" mottled brown
2. The green cover version was called "Swamp water Slime mottled green
3. The red cover version was called "Stripped Flesh" mottled red
4. This off white cover version was called "Bleached Bones"

Each of the 500 copies (the copies were not individually numbered) was bound in gold foil stamped, glossy Skivertex (which is much more durable than the trade edition's chipboard and paper binding) and printed in full color on off white slick paper. Each of "Pricey Edition", "colored", limited editions contains a special bookplate inside the front cover. The bookplate is Hand-Signed by seven of the original EC Comics artists and writers; Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Johnny Craig, Al Feldstein, Al Williamson, Marie Severin, and George Evans.

This book is not strictly about the television show, as a matter of fact, it's 75-80% about the history of EC Comics, the trials and tribulations of Bill Gaines and the US Senate hearings, the fan publications and reprints that lead to EC Comic's resurgence, and finally how all this lead to Hollywood and the TV series and several motion pictures.

Features:
-the official biography of the Crypt Keeper and the history of EC Horror Comics
-a previously unpublished picto-fiction horror story drawn by Jack Davis
-all 105 EC Horror Comic covers reproduced in full-color
-a pictorial "filmography" of the award-winning HBO and Fox Television series featuring credits, synopses, and episode guide
-four original (and complete) stories by Jack Davis, Al Feldstein, Graham Ingels, and Jack Kamen reprinted from the actual art and reproduced in color in their original size
-brief biographies and portfolios of the key EC artists
-collectible section highlighting the coolest and most valuable Crypt merchandise

Collectible Entertainment comment: Very highly recommended for the EC / Tales for the the Crypt enthusiast or collector.

Limited to 500
First Edition
Publication Date: October 1996
Format: FC, 256 pages, HC, 12" x 9"
ISBN: 0-312-14486-5

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Sku: U1-09-627