This episode was taken from Two-Fisted Tales, which was a pilot that HBO hoped would reproduced the success of this series. “Showdown” was written by Frank Darabont and directed by Richard Donner and is the story of a gunfighter’s last stand.

“Howdy, illgrim. Wah-huh. It’s die noon, and you know what that means, don’t you? It means it’s time for a gunfright at the O.K. Ghoulral. ‘Cause this tomb ain’t big enough for the both of us. Which brings me to tonight’s tale. It’s about a gunslinger who’s about to ride into his last roundup. I call this prairie poison “Showdown.””

After killing Texas Ranger Tom McMurdo (David Morse), outlaw Billy Quintaine (Neil Giuntoli) makes his way to a ghost town that is filled with the vengeful ghosts of the many people that he has killed.

It’s interesting that the show tried to save money by recycling “Yellow” for Two-Fisted Tales and used this story and “King of the Road” for episodes of Tales from the Crypt. I wonder how much crossover there would have been if both series aired.

This episode is inspired by a story in Two-Fisted Tales #37 but it’s an original story. The comic story “Showdown” was written by William Gaines and Al Feldstein and drawn by John Severin.