Monday, October 24, 2011

I Love Atlas Comics#10: The Man Who Steals Gravestones!

In the spirit of Halloween, I've dug up an old blog feature and jolt it back to life; for the week leading up to the holiday, I'll be writing up new entries in my old "I Love Atlas Comics" series!

Today, let's look at 1953's Adventures into Weird Worlds#14 (reprinted from Crypt of Shadows#5) and Sol Brodsky's story "The Man Who Steals Gravestones!"

He's actually using a modest winch, but when I first saw this splash page years ago I thought the gravestone-nabber had an elaborate removal device.

We open in a cemetery with Josiah Creech, the man who steals gravestones. After loading the old gravestone into his wheelbarrow, then into his truck, Creech brings the stone back to his shop and chisels the names off the slab, then places it in his display window; you see, Josiah is in the business of gravestone sales.

One day an older gentleman purchases a gravestone from Josiah for $100 and Josiah carries the stone to the cemetary himself, intending to plant it lightly in the ground so it will be easier to re-steal. However, once the gravestone is planted the purchaser disappears without having paid Josiah. Josiah wonders what's going on, when suddenly he's pulled through the ground itself!

Josiah finds himself within a coffin beside the man who purchased the gravestone. He believes since Josiah seems to want his gravestone so badly...

Creech already has such a look of death about him (the tight skin on his skull, the sunken eyes), he actually looks less lively than the dead man.

Be back tomorrow for another "I Love Atlas Comics!"

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