Crime SuspenStories #22
"In Each and Every Package" is a chilling tale from Crime SuspenStories #22 (1954), a standout issue from EC’s acclaimed horror anthology series. Written by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein and illustrated with stark precision by Reed Crandall, the story follows Norman and Sally as they plot to murder Norman’s wife, Bertha, using a shocking disguise and a deadly axe. The narrative’s true horror unfolds when their scheme spirals into a macabre twist during a radio show appearance in New York—only to be undone by a grim discovery waiting back home. The cover, a haunting image by Johnny Craig, captures the story’s unsettling tone perfectly.
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Norman and Sally conspire to kill Norman's wife so that they can go off and be together in New York. Sally had undergone plastic surgery to look just like Bertha and studied her voice from recordings in order to fool everyone and now it was up to Norman to kill Bertha with an axe, which he does. After flying to New York and checking in to a hotel with "his wife", the couple attend the filming of a radio game show, and are chosen as contestants, and win $3000. To their horror, they learn that a crew is back at Norman's back yard in Ohio, burying the treasure: right where Norman buried his wife!
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).