We've discussed the 'ol "bury you now, dig you up later" scheme in these scary old precode stories many times in the past, and it'll come as no spoilery surprise to learn that it doesn't work out in today's post either. But this time there's a twist, and it barely makes sense, --and bah, who cares? This is the stuff that made Atlas horror so great in the foist place, ya lousy bums! From the Dec. 1952 issue of Marvel Tales #110, with art by Don Perlin and Abe Simon (cover art by Russ Heath.)
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What do you suppose the Hunchback of Notre Deathrow wanted Carlos to beat the chair for? Certainly not $500, that kind of pill would fetch him many times more if marketed (for instance think of the long distance passenger transport savings if you didn't have to pay for anything more than enough space to pack then in side by side). Maybe HoND is a mad scientist and wanted to transplant his own consciousness into Carlos' less repulsive carcass?
OK does the ending make sense? Nope, but it *works*. It works because it has the dark sense of humor that made a lot of Atlas stories tick.
Another good Atlas 4 panel transition. Early Perlin but he does a really fine job here. The hunchback is a great character; not even a necessary one but why not make him a one-eyed, sharp-toothed hunchback? It's fun to draw! Perlin also gets in some good camera angles that give the story a more off-kilter horror feel. It's really great work.
The title is kind of misleading, there's not a coffin to be found in this story!
I love how Carlos’ visitor gives off an almost supernatural aspect to him. He knows Carlos but Carlos has never seen him before in his life. The man looks like he could be Death or the devil himself. Yet the ending is not a supernatural one in the slightest. It’s a fun, twist ending though. Especially, since the brother actually got the money legally and honestly.
Possibly the “coffin” in the title refers to his jail cell, or even being conscience while trapped in a dead body
I will admit it, this was a twist ending I did not see coming.
Maybe the hunchback offered the pill to Carlos because he needed a live subject to see if the pill actually works. If it did, then the pill could be sold to other, richer prisoners on death row. If not, then back to the drawing board, with five hundred in cash to continue the experiment.
A quick look on an inflation calculator showed the following, in 1952 $500 would have the buying power of close to $6,000 today, $5,918.66 to be precise. A rather tidy sum if I do say so myself.
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