Shock SuspenStories: You, Murderer!

[alicemacher]

Another EC classic illustrated by Bernie Krigstein.


From Shock SuspenStories #14 (Apr.-May 1954). Story by Otto Binder.



The unnamed protagonist, from whose viewpoint the entire story is shown, goes for a walk one night.







Galby gives one final command: after killing Storch, the protagonist is to return home and wake up with no memory of having even left the house, let alone having met Galby and committed the crime.

Having arrived at Storch's house, the protagonist looks through the window and sees Storch seemingly building the bomb. In reality, according to the narration, he's a TV repairman engrossed in tinkering with a set he brought home. As such, he doesn't spot his attacker until it's too late.







By the way, Krigstein signed the first panel of this story as "Dr. Caligari Krigstein," acknowledging his debt to German expressionist cinema.

Comments

[lonewolf23k]

Boy, would this guy have been screwed if he'd stumbled onto a person who's not as suggestible.

[crinos]

I feel like he's screwed anyway since he decided to stay in the guys room to gloat about his plan to the guy.

I mean, what's stopping this guy from just, you know, killing him. I mean he's already wanted for one murder. In for a Penny and all that.

Seriously, if you commit the perfect murder like this, you don't hang around and gloat to the guy you made the murder weapon.

I mean, even the fortune teller from The incredibly strange creatures who stopped living and became mixed up zombies knew better than to hang around in the guys room after sending him to commit murders.

[alicemacher]

Well, given that we're already dealing with a Nothing Works That Way situation (I mean, unless the guy already had a natural disposition towards killing communists on a stranger's say-so, Galby shouldn't have been able to hypnotize him into doing that, but, y'know, comic book), Galby could just hypnotize him again and make him kill himself instead. (Which would also help establish him as the culprit, since it's not uncommon for murderers facing capture to do themselves in.) Because hypnotism is magic, apparently.

[ozaline]

It is your patriotic duty to kill him with the chain, specifically withthe chain, it's what Uncle Sam demands.

I've read other first person PoV comics that make you into the killer (which seems to be the case here?) but this one works better than most.

[healyg]

Oh hey, this was featured in Martin Barker's A Haunt of Fears! I remember really digging the message in this one.