Auctions: comic books August 1952

Adventures into Darkness (1952) 5 GD+ 2.5

2" cumulative spine split. Cover oxidation.

Jack Katz cover. Contains Alex Toth art. In order of appearance: "Murder Mansion" art by Alex Toth and Mike Peppe, reprinted in Seduction of the Innocent (1985 Eclipse) #2, Genius Isolated The Life and Art of Alex Toth HC (2011 IDW) #1-1ST, and Setting the Standard: Comics by Alex Toth 1952-1954 HC (2011 FB) #1-1ST; "Drury's Dream"; "Death Follows Orders" art by Jerry Grandenetti; "The Phantom Hounds of Castle Eyne" art by Alex Toth and Mike Peppe, reprinted in Alex Toth Reader TPB (2003-2005) #1-1ST and in Setting the Standard: Comics by Alex Toth 1952-1954 HC (2011 FB) #1-1ST; "Horror's Little Acre" art by Ruben Moreira, reprinted in Seduction of the Innocent (1985 Eclipse) #2; "The Phantom Warning"; and "Day of Reckoning!". "The Chimes of Doom: Charles Hanover Didn't Understand the Real Power of the Clock!" illustrated text story by Irwin Shapiro. 36 pages. Full color. Cover price $0.10.

Baffling Mysteries (1952) 8 CGC 4.5

Paper: Cream to off white

Label #3886194006

The Bride's Borrowed Time, pencils by Lou Cameron, inks by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio; Husband becomes curious about the lifelike male dolls kept by his beautiful young wife -- and why one of them talked to him; Lucretia is a witch dabbling with the secrets of the "Australian bush country head-hunters." Baffling Mysteries #7; One spring day in 1912, Richard Wentworth an American business man, checked in at a well-known hotel in London ...; The ghost of a burning man warns Wentworth that the hotel is on fire. Jungle Idol's Vengeful Rage; Professional hunters in northern India stalk a black panther guided by Ra-La, goddess of destruction; Stealing Ra-La's ruby eyes, the hunters flee to London. At the Sound of Airi's Drum, pencils by Lou Cameron, inks by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio. Yama's Fiery Fury, art by Chic Stone; Explorers in Sumatra encounter a race of belligerent lava-men. They can be rendered harmless by contact with water, of course. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Classics Illustrated 098 The Red Badge of Courage (1952) 1 VG/FN 5.0

Sticker on splash page.

The Red Badge of Courage, 1st Printing, Painted Cover. (HRN 98, with 8/52 date). This is no epic history of great generals, glorious victories or dire defeats. This is simply the story of what befell only one young lad on that fateful day when he came face to face with the monster called war. Cover price $0.15.

Fighting Fronts (1952-1953 Harvey) 1 FR 1.0

7" Cumulative spine split. Cover detached. Centerfold detached.

Cover by Lee Elias. Stories and art by Jack Sparling, Al Avison, Vic Donahue, Bob Powell and Warren Kremer. Tales of war from Harvey, published as the Korean War was at its peak. WWII pilot Pete is shot down, and only his buddy Mike can save him. A US convoy truck confronted by enemy soldiers makes a desperate ramming attack. A soldier on his last tour in Korea brings along a movie camera to capture footage of the war. Plentiful vintage ads for toy soldiers and war comics (including one starring Joe Palooka) provide a time capsule of Cold War-era culture. Buddy System; Do or Die; Eye Witness; He Knew!; The Last Patrol; Conways Revenge. 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Journey into Mystery (1952) 2 FR 1.0

Interior complete. Full length spine split with covers detached. Brittle.

"The Scarecrow," art by Russ Heath; Scrawny Tim Blake buys a magic potion to build up his muscles, which is very successful at first, until it sends his body out of control. "The Pact" text story. "Don't Look!," art by Jay Scott Pike; A madman offers to give an attorney a magic mirror that reveals how people will look in the future but there is a secret terrible cost. "How Clumsy Can Ya Be?," art by Howard Post; A would-be magician bungles his training in India, and when he returns to the States to begin his career, he bungles his first performance, too. "Thru the Door," pencils by Ben Brown, inks by David Gantz; A boxer's manager tries to persuade the boxer's wife to run away with him, but the boxer overhears and chases after them; They barricade themselves in a room, but the manager then learns that the woman is really a hungry vampire. The Hiding Place, art by Gene Colan; When Ann and her lover Paul are confronted by Ann's husband, she panics and kills him. 36 pgs., full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Master Comics (1940 Fawcett) 129 VG 4.0

Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger. Stories and art by Carl Pfeufer and John Jordan. Master Comics was one of the cornerstones of the Fawcett lineup during the 1940s. Captain Marvel Jr. encounters a race of mer-people, who, in grand comics tradition, wish to stay hidden from the surface world. Jungle queen Nyoka is captured by a pygmy tribe that hates outsiders, ever since their chief's ritual diamond necklace was stolen by an explorer. Western hero Tom Mix warns a rancher to move his herds out of the path of a flood, but the rancher has a hidden agenda. Captain Marvel Jr. and The Underwater Mountain Mystery; Willer the Driller: A Vacuum Bloobstutter Story; Ozzie: The Hot Rod Race of the Century; Nyoka, the Jungle Girl and the String of Pygmies; Muscle Hedd: A Big Creep!; Tom Mix: The Storm of Death. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Men in Action (1952 1st Series Atlas) 5 CGC 4.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4597191003

Mystic (1951 Atlas) 11 CGC 3.0 Big Apple

Paper: Light tan to off white

Big Apple.

Label #1465808005

Death and Tommy Norton, script by Stan Lee, pencils by John Romita; A boy's toy soldier shoots his aunt when she attempts to murder him. Dangerous Love text story. Horror in the City, pencils by Werner Roth; A man meets a woman who tells him of a war beneath the Earth between the Clabs and the Paladorns; He is separated from her but she returns later, reveals herself as a Paladorn, and kills him in order to silence him. Not Flesh and Blood!, script by Carl Wessler, art by Myron Fass; Howard Walton hires a mechanic, Karl Luger, to build a robot to murder his business partner. The Black Gloves, pencils by Ben Brown, inks by David Gantz; A man named Mr. Gamin wears black gloves in order to cover up the fanged mouths centered in his palms. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Whiz Comics (1940 Fawcett) 148 GD+ 2.5

Water damage.

Cover by Pete Costanza. Stories and art by Bill Woolfolk, Otto Binder, Anthony Cataldo, and Kurt Schaffenberger. The Fawcett comic that introduced the original Captain Marvel (Shazam) to the world. A visiting ship from outer space leads to a desperate tug-of-war involving Captain Marvel and all the copper on planet Earth. After rescuing a man who fell off a bridge, Lance and Mike follow the trail of the Pearls of Blood. Ibis and Taia try to protect Lucania after it is attacked by locust swarms, apparently because the ancient Locust God is no longer appeased with sacrifices. Captain Marvel: The Strange Copper Catastrophe; Doc Sorebones; Lance O'Casey: The Pearls of Blood; Golden Arrow: Map of Treachery; Wicky and O'Shawnessy; Tightwad Tad; Wilbur the Waiter; Ibis the Invincible: The Swarm of Horrors. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.