Graham Ingels Tales From The Crypt #35 Complete 7-Page Story "This Wraps It Up" Ingels Only Mummy Story Old Witch Host Original Art (EC, 1953)
The Old Witch is the featured host to end the issue with the Witch's Cauldron "This Wraps It Up", with a rare full image of the Old Witch on the splash panel. What makes this story even more rare is this is Ingel's only Mummy Story while at EC! Furthermore according to an EC Pre-Code Horror blog, this is the very last EC story to feature a Mummy!
It's a great tale by both Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein with three archeologists, one with a bad heart (Munson), uncover the tomb of the 5th Pharaoh of Egypt with a large treasure. The two hatch a plot involving the Pharaoh's mummy in order to get Munson's heart to give out, because they know that he will insist on turning over the treasure to the museum. Munson does indeed drop dead from fright from the Pharaoh's mummy, but the schemer pulls out a pistol and shoots the mummy as he wishes to keep all the treasure for himself, but he can't understand why the mummy doesn't drop. It's because the Pharaoh has come back to life to kill the interlopers.A truly "Ghastly" story brought to you with the dark and sinister visuals as only Graham Ingels could provide.
Twice-up scale in ink and white paint over graphite on EC Bristol board with image areas of 13" x 18". Slight toning, stat "The Witch's Cauldron" paste-up and hand-drawn title and text paste-ups on the first page, signed "Ghastly" at the bottom of the opening panel, blue pencil editorial marks and whiteout corrections, with staining and smudging/handling wear. Overall in Very Good condition.
Below, check out all of the remaining page scans to the story...
Page 2- The three men discover and enter the tomb. Great sketches by Ingels of the men on the top of the board...
Page 3- Great 3rd page as the men explore the tomb and find skulls and treasure. So many key pages throughout this story make this a real treat, especially having Ingels illustrate the skulls and treasure!
Page 4- More treasure, but more importantly the burial chamber of the sarcophagus and the mummy is revealed for the first time. Great final panel showing the possessed treasure hunter, and the look of greed setting in...
Page 5- The devious plan to take out the treasure hunter with the bad heart. Great eerie shots of the evil, greedy treasure hunters...
Page 6- The mummy is alive! Great shots of the monster throughout. What we consider an A-Level EC Pre-Code Horror page as Arnold, with the bad heart dies and the plan has worked to perfection. Or has it?...
Page 7- The shocking finale page, if the last page was an A page, well this is deserving of an A+ as we find out Thomas is not disguised as the mummy, but it's the mummy himself! The icing on the cake is the Old Witch hand drawn by Ingels in the lower right narrating the tale and the panel to the side with the mummy, the dead treasure hunter and Jerome, who will soon to be dead too!