Auctions: comic books in 'Pre-Code Horror'

Adventures Into the Unknown (1948 ACG) 51 PR 0.5

Interior is complete. Back cover missing.

"Nightmare" (3D-ish art by Harry Lazarus), "The House That Was," "Death Mask," and "The Monster" (art by Kenneth Landau). Edited by Richard E. Hughes. Cover by Harry Lazarus. Stories by Harry Lazarus and Bob Forgione. Spine-chilling tales of suspense, horror, and the supernatural—prepare yourself for Adventures into the Unknown! 36 pages, full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Amazing Ghost Stories (1954 St. John) 15 GD/VG 3.0

Centerfold detached at one staple. Interior tearing.

Cover by Matt Baker. Stories and art by Bob Powell, Frank Giacoia, Robert Bernstein, Ray Willner, and Vic Martin. Classic pre-Code horror from St. John. Jim encounters zombie soldiers in Haiti, in a story with art by comics legend Bob Powell. A hunter kills a rare white eagle and activates an ancient curse, in a story with art by future Marvel artist Frank Giacoia. A ghost in an old New Orleans mansion seeks a couple's help in bringing his killer to justice. Plus an article on Egyptian freemasonry. Cover by good-girl art legend Matt Baker. Payment in Full!; The Stalking Doom; Cagliostro: Swindler or Superman?; Out of the Unknown; Wings of Death!; Vic Martin; Spirit Spasms; All the King's Men. 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Baffling Mysteries (1952) 18 CGC 5.0

Paper: Cream to off white

Label #0124701009

6 of Me on the Prowl, art by Ken Rice; An evil sculptress and a mad doctor create six clones of ex-G.I. Barney Phelps; As the clones commit crimes, the real Phelps is desperate to stop them. 12 Hours to Doom, art by Lou Cameron; Businessman Arthur Matlin discovers a magic sundial which summons Chronos, the spirit of time;p With the help of Chronos, Matlin can travel some hours ahead into the future; He uses this ability to commit crimes. The Ghost in the Portrait, art by Ken Rice; A young couple free the ghost of an evil ancestor; He takes revenge on the bones of the people who sentenced him to death; Then he commands the man to murder his wife, as he did with his wife. Crimson Wraith from the North, art by Sy Grudko. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Blue Bolt (1949) 115 CGC 4.5

Paper: Cream to off white

Label #4683996001

Cover by L. B. Cole. Stories and art by Jay Disbrow and others. Pre-Code tales of horror and monsters, unofficially called Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror. As the horror-comics craze grows, Star shifts the former superhero title to horror and mystery stories. Official indicia title remains Blue Bolt, despite shifting cover titles. The origin of Sergeant Spook, as a dead policeman learns he can still be seen and heard by teenage Jerry, and helps Jerry rid an orphanage of ghosts. A cursed parchment from Tibet kills anyone who reads it. An explorer and his dog seek a shape-shifting Alaskan monster, in a rare sequel to a previous story, "The Ghoul of the North" from issue #113. Cavern of Death; The Parchment of Death; Death from the Skies; Terror in the Fields; Secret of the Moaning Ghosts; The Return of the Ghoul. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.