'Horror We? How's Bayou?' (The Haunt of Fear #17, 10 January 1953).
Graham Ingels was one of the leading artists of American horror comics. He came to prominence in the early 1950s as one of the main contributors to the EC Comics series 'The Haunt of Fear', 'Tales From the Crypt' and 'The Vault of Horror'. Ingels also designed one of their mascots, the Old Witch. He earned a reputation as one of EC's boldest and most chilling artists. Graphic depictions of decaying corpses and other gruesome creatures became his trademark. Ingels' self-invented nickname and signature "Ghastly" perfectly evokes his style, which remains influential to this day. Yet despite his strong cult following, little is known about the man behind the artist. Ingels never gave interviews and spent a large part of his later life in seclusion, far from his fans and former co-workers.
Early life and career
Graham J. Ingels was born in 1915 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was partially raised in Georgia and New York, where he attended school in Yonkers and Long Island. His father was a commercial artist, who encouraged his son's artistic ambitions, but died when Ingels was 14. Now the breadwinner, he had to take several odd jobs to support the family income, including window washer. At age 20, Ingels began freelancing as a commercial artist, although no specifics are known about his activities. In 1935, he married his wife Gertrude, with whom he had two children, Deanna and Robie.
Cover illustrations for Startling Comics and Wonder Comics.
Early comic book career
In 1943, Ingels started working for the pulp magazines published by Fiction House, making illustrations for Planet Stories, Jungle Stories, Wings Comics and Action Stories, which included painted covers. He also found his way to the comic books published by this company, drawing features like 'The Lost World' and 'Auro, Lord of Jupiter' for Planet Comics, 'The Sea Devil' for Rangers Comics, and 'Clipper Kirk' for Wings Comics.
The same year, Ingels served his country during World War II, joining the U.S. Navy. He saw no military action, but did produce some artwork, including a mural painting for the freshly established United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan. Back in civilian life, Ingels returned to comic books by working for Magazine Enterprises and Famous Funnies. He became an editor for publisher Ned Pine at Better-Standard-Nedor, where he wrote and drew for Thrilling Comics, Wonder Comics and Startling Comics, including covers and features like 'Lance Lewis, Space Detective'. He also worked for Fiction House, Avon and Western Comics/Youthful, until finding a steady homebase at EC Comics in 1948.
'A Biting Finish' (The Haunt of Fear #5, January-February 1951).
EC Comics
When Ingels joined EC Comics in 1948, he was one of the first new artists to arrive after publisher William M. Gaines had taken over his late father Max's company. Initially, Ingels drew covers and stories for the war and western titles 'War Against Crime!', 'Crime Patrol', 'Gunfighter' and 'Saddle Justice'. While his artwork was adequate, the company's horror comics would become his actual calling. Together with his editors Al Feldstein and Johnny Craig, Gaines revamped his older titles from 1950 on to what later became known as the "New Trend" line of comic books. EC's horror and suspense comic book titles 'The Haunt of Fear', 'Tales From the Crypt' and 'The Vault of Horror' became huge bestsellers. The stories were characterized by daring subject matter, ironic plot twists and high-quality artwork.
Ingels became one of EC's most memorable horror artists. He excelled in gothic atmosphere: swampy surroundings, mutilated cadavers and vengeance-seeking zombies became his trademark. From the 11th issue on, he designed all covers of The Haunt of Fear and designed the series' mascot, the Old Witch. This cackling old hag with a bulbous, popping eye debuted in issue #16 (July 1950). Between 1950 and 1953, Ingels additionally produced a special 'Haunt of Fear' feature in EC's crime comic book 'Crime SuspenStories'. From 1952 on, Ingels started signing all his work under the nickname "Ghastly". With over 82 stories to his credit, he was effectively the most productive horror artist for the company.
'Two-Timed!' (The Vault of Horror #36, April-May 1954).
Personal tragedies
Although his horror comics at EC were well-regarded by his editors and readers, Ingels also battled personal demons. He was an alcoholic, causing him to miss his deadlines and often disappear for days in a row. Ingels always wanted to become a fine artist and frequently painted landscapes, portraits and still lifes. But now he was typecast as a horror artist, a comic genre that acquired a depraved reputation in the 1950s, due to a media witch hunt and moral guardian scare, fed by Dr. Fredric Wertham's 1954 book 'Seduction of the Innocent'. By 1955, EC Comics was forced to discontinue all their crime and horror comics due to the new Comics Code censorship. While this freed Ingels from the stigmatic comics he drew before, it also took away the one genre his art was perfect for.
Between 1955 and 1956, Ingels continued to draw stories for EC's short-lived "New Direction" line of comics ('Piracy', 'Impact', 'Valor', 'M.D.') and the Picto-Fiction books with illustrated short stories. But these sanitized and more educational comics lacked his gory magic. The "New Direction" comics were not a success and soon discontinued too, leaving Ingels without a direction.
'Marriage Vow' (The Haunt of Fear #26, July-August 1954).
Post-EC career
Shortly after the downfall of the EC comic books in the mid-1950s, Ingels started teaching painting classes from his Long Island studio. In addition, his EC colleague George Evans introduced him as an inker to the 'Classics Illustrated' comic books of Gilberton. Ingels also penciled the adaptation of Émile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrian's novel 'Waterloo' (1956) and contributed stories to Gilberton's 'The World Around Us' (1959), as well as to 'Treasure Chest', a comic book published by the Catholic Church. He subsequently became a tutor with the correspondence courses of the Famous Artists School in Westport, Connecticut. However, his personal problems got the upper hand, and by 1962, Ingels left his family and dropped off the radar.
'Waterloo' (Classics Illustrated #135, November 1956).
Later years and death
In the 1960s, the young readers who had devoured EC Comics' stories in the previous decade had grown into adults. The once-condemned horror and suspense stories were revalued as thrilling and groundbreaking works of art. Reprints sold well and the veteran artists and writers enjoyed a strong cult following. However, "Ghastly" Graham Ingels was the only contributor whose fate remained unknown. He seemingly vanished from the Earth and fans wondered whether he was still alive.
It took until 1972 before devoted EC enthusiasts managed to track Ingels down. He lived in Lantana, Florida, with a new partner, instructing oil painting from his home studio. But he had turned into a recluse. Ingels refused any interview or graphic assignment and didn't want to be visited, nor to attend comic conventions. The veteran made it clear that any attempt to approach him had to be made through this attorney. When publisher Russ Cochran auctioned original "New Trend" comic pages, Ingels even refused his rightful share of the profits. EC publisher Bill Gaines actually had to persuade Ingels into accepting the money. Ingels did inform the outside world that he still had warm feelings for his old colleagues at EC, but otherwise had no desire to relaunch his comic career, nor dwell on the past. Still, there was some positive news too: Ingels had sworn off the bottle and found joy in being an art teacher.
In 1989, Russ Cochran eventually managed to persuade Ingels to make oil paintings of his signature character The Old Witch, which could then be auctioned. Between 1989 and 1991, Ingels painted four large paintings and ten smaller studies, after which he turned ill. He was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer and passed away on 4 April 1991 at the age of 75.
Legacy and influence
Although his tenure as a comic artist was short, Graham Ingels has left a lasting impression on the horror comics genre. All of his fellow EC authors have expressed their admiration for his work; publisher William M. Gaines even labeled him as "Mr. Horror". Jim Woodring affectionately described his work as "the product of a diseased mind or something", while horror novelist Stephen King mentioned Ingels and his art in his 1973 short story 'The Boogeyman'. Ingels' Haunt of Fear story 'Poetic Justice' was adapted into the horror film 'Tales From The Crypt' (1972), produced by the Amicus Studios.
Since 2011, the Ghastly Awards, named after him, have been awarded annually to honor excellence in horror comics, with Ingels posthumously being the first Hall of Fame inductee. He was followed by Al Feldstein, Bill Gaines and Bernie Wrightson in 2012, Archie Goodwin and Gene Colan in 2013, Jack Davis, Al Hewetson and Peter Normanton in 2014 and Stephen R. Bissette in 2015. In 2024, Ingels was posthumously honored with the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Inkwell Award.
Graham Ingels was an influence on Serge Buyse, Jim Woodring and Bernie Wrightson.
Cover illustrations for The Haunt of Fear issue #17 (January-February 1953) and 28 (November-December 1954).