Reviews
REVIEW: Tales From the Crypt #6
Book Title: Tales From the Crypt #6
Book Description: Tales From the Crypt #6 gives us two short stories. The first is the tale of Phil Rafferty. Phil is the assistant for a reality tv show/game show producer named Lazlo Sloan. Lazlo’s biggest show is called “Jumping the Shark”.
“Jumping the Shark” is akin to “Fear Factor”. The key difference being how dangerous the stunts are. When a contestant swings across a tank filled with sharks and is killed, Phil speaks his mind to Lazlo.
Phil tells Lazlo that the show is inhumane and what’s been happening is immoral. These complaints fall on deaf ears. Fittingly Phil ends up pushing Lazlo into the shark tank.
Lazlo’s death is ruled a suicide and Phil inherits the position of producer. He vows to make the show more humane; but when ratings drop he’s forced to go to extremes and put dangerous games back in.
Then he starts getting visits from Lazlo’s decomposing corpse. No matter how many times he kills it again the corpse comes back with more horrible show ideas. Right up to the point where Phil realizes that he can’t outrun a ghost.
The second story is a spin on the H.G. Wells story, The Time Machine. This story has a twist to it as Jack the Ripper finds a pocket watch that when activated sends him into the future.
Upon arriving in the future he’s trapped inside the watch. The watch is found on the street and sold to a pawn shop, where it’s resold to a man named Bobby.
When he shows his significant other, Sally, the watch she goes into orbit. The money he spent was supposed to be used for vacation, not junk. Sally throws the watch in disgust.
When the watch lands it opens, releasing Jack the Ripper from his mechanical prison. Jack quickly dispatches Sally and starts chasing Bobby. In desperation Bobby jumps out the window and Jack follows right behind.
Bobby runs across the street. When Jack gets into the street he’s hit by a car, killing him. At that point the watch rolls away and Bobby picks it up. When he Bobby does so he’s sucked into the watch.
Book Author: Jim Salicrup, Arie Kaplan, Joe R. Lansdale, and John L. Landsdale
Book Format: Paperback
Publisher - Orgnization: Papercutz
Publisher Logo:
Illustrator: Mr. Exes, Rick Parker, and James Romberger, Marguerite Van Cook
- Story(2.75)
- Interior Art(2.75)
- Cover Art(3.75)
- Dialogue(3)
- Mechanics(3)
- Editing(3)
Summary
Dad loved the original runs of Tales From the Crypt EC put out back in the day. When reprints were published in the early 90’s he would pick them up for the two of us. At the time I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the ironic endings the stories had. The cover is a spot on throwback to the covers of yesteryear. I loved the shark, and the retro look of the cover. When I came across this issue at a yard sale I picked it up for the sake of nostalgia. I was surprised to see that this issue contained a current introduction from the Crypt Keeper with a computer instead of a reprinted introduction. The stories had the unique twists that has always made the series stand out from other titles. The artwork on the interior pages is very solid. I really liked how Alonzo was depicted as a zombie. The coloring was terrific. All said, this version of Tales From the Crypt was a pleasant surprise. It made me happy to know that after all that time it could be revived without missing a beat. It’s well worth taking the time to check it out!
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