Tales from the Crypt #21
"A Shocking Way to Die" is a chilling tale from Tales from the Crypt #21 (1950), a standout story written by Al Feldstein and William M. Gaines and illustrated with haunting precision by Graham Ingels, whose inks bring every grim detail to life. The story follows a man’s desperate bid for love and status, culminating in a fatal twist tied to a tuxedo he steals from his murdered rival. The cover, penciled and inked by Al Feldstein, perfectly captures the story’s macabre tone.
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The rivalry between two college boys for the love of a woman ends when the poorer of the two murders the other, making it look like an accident, to gain his wife and money. To top off his victory he decides to steal the tuxedo for the wedding that the victim was wearing when buried, because he is convinced if he were not too poor to afford a tuxedo in college, he could have been her first choice in marriage. She agrees to the wedding, but on the blessed day, he dies from embalming fluid poisoning contracted from the suit.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).