Auctions: comic books February 1953

Adventures into Darkness (1952) 8 FR 1.0

3" Spine split from bottom. Water saturation.

Contains Alex Toth art. In order of appearance: "Mark of Evil" art by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio; "Creepy Crossword Puzzle" activity page; "Death's Bridal Gown"; "The House That Jackdaw Built" art by Alex Toth, reprinted in Setting the Standard: Comics by Alex Toth 1952-1954 HC (2011 FB) #1-1ST; "The Fatal Strands"; and "The Twisted Hands" art by Alex Toth, reprinted in Setting the Standard: Comics by Alex Toth 1952-1954 HC (2011 FB) #1-1ST. "The Beast Wasn't Hungry: Stolen Diamonds Bring a Strange Reward in the Wilds of Africa!" illustrated text story by R. S. Fenton. 36 pages. Full color. Cover price $0.10.

Airboy Comics (1945-1953 Hillman) Vol. 10 #1 CGC 6.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4692677015

Cover by Ernest Schroeder. Stories and art by Bob Jenney and Ernest Schroeder. One of the more fanciful and influential of 1940s aviator heroes, Airboy fights evil with his radio-controlled plane "Birdie" and its plethora of experimental flying tech. Sometimes listed as Airboy Comics #108. No issue # on cover; Vol. 10, issue #1 in indicia. Airboy helps an aviation pioneer who's being blackmailed over a 30-year-old crash that might have been an accident or murder. In Scandinavia, The Heap helps a man try to save his village from a disastrous civil engineering scheme. The story of circus pioneer Hachaliah Bailey's first elephant. Airboy; The Heap; 10¢ a Look; The Spanish Stab; The Finger of Asia; Bits from the Blue; The Rabbit of the Baselines. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Mystery Tales (1952 Atlas) 8 FR/GD 1.5

5 1/2" Cumulative spine split. Cover detached. Centerfold is detached at one staple. Water spotting.

Cover art by Bill Everett. "The Madman!", script by Stan Lee, art by Tony DiPreta; A serious actor, portraying Hamlet, sees his star begin to lose some lustre when nepotism rears its head and the producer's cousin is made his understudy; The understudy proceeds to sabotage the actor to the point where he accidentally kills the actor's wife by mistake. "Danger - Quicksand!" text story. "A Killer in the Street," pencils by Paul Reinman , inks by Art Wallace; A police detective is obsessed with a serial killer whose victims are all young pretty women in red dresses; When his wife buys a red dress, he insists that she take it back and she reluctantly agrees; Working late on the case, he has no time to go home and they agree to meet downtown for dinner; He sees she's wearing the red dress after all and flies into a rage. "This House Is Haunted!", art by Ed Winiarski; Josiah Benson's son Adam inherits his dilapidated property where four squatters play poker; Adam gives them notice, to no avail, because they know the place is haunted and unrentable. "The Wooden Man"; Chick Black is a midget who looks like a wooden dummy; His modus operandi is to let people find him and take him in, whereupon he robs them, using his unique appearance and size to elude capture; On his latest heist, Chick shoots and kills a guard. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.10.

Sensation Mystery (1952) 113 CGC 5.0

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4723170023

Cover pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by John Giunta. The End of Death, script by Robert Kanigher, pencils by Jerry Grandenetti, inks by Frank Giacoia; A criminal tries to convince Johnny Peril that he is being haunted by Death himself. The Sea Girl!, pencils by Jim Mooney, inks by Bernard Sachs; Jim Spencer is marooned on an enchanted island; He lives in the company of an undine, a dryad and a sylph; Spencer falls in love with Celia, the mermaid. Lantern in the Rain!, script by Jack Miller, art by Irwin Hasen; Did the ghost of John Logan flash his ghostly signal lantern to stop Luke Brownell from crashing his train? The Man Who Sold His Soul article, script by Jack Miller, art by Raymond Perry; Account of a strange story happening in Lima, Peru, in 1715. Legacy of Horror!, pencils by Murphy Anderson, inks by Sy Barry; Ralph Edgerton inherits millions from a distant relative, but has to spend time in a haunted house. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Tales from the Crypt (1950 E.C. Comics) 34 CGC 8.0

Paper: Cream to off white

Label #1108110002

Cover by Jack Davis. "Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall!", script by Al Feldstein, art by Jack Davis; A first person narrative where a man fashions a monster together out of artificial parts ala Frankenstein and transfers your brain into it. "Oil's Well That Ends Well!", script by Al Feldstein, art by George Evans; Two swindlers run a racket where they visit a small town and convince them there is oil present and get them to issue stock in order to come up with the check to begin drilling. "Love Story" text story. "Attacks of Horror!", script by Al Feldstein, art by Jack Kamen; This grim fairy tale tells the story of king Moneymad's tax scheme. "There Was an Old Woman!", script by Ray Bradbury (original story) and Albert B. Feldstein (adaptation), art by Graham Ingels (as Ghastly); The employees of a mortuary are haunted by the spirit of an old woman who refuses to leave until they return her body to her. 36 pgs., full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Wanted Comics (1947 Orbit / Toytown) 52 CGC 4.0 Buscema Collection

Paper: Off white

From The Collection of John Buscema.

Label #4703913001

Cover by John Buscema. Stories and art by John Buscema, Mort Leav, Harry Anderson, Rafael Astarita, and Bill Woolfolk. Bloody pre-Code crime comics, in imitation of Crime Does Not Pay - including a top-hatted, otherworldly narrator. The twist is that the publisher offers wanted posters (and rewards) for real-life criminals. A temple cult has a strange connection to a band of masked killers, in a story with some atmospheric (and violent) art by Harry Anderson. Gangsters hijack trucks carrying valuable silk shipments. The Great Unsolved Mysteries contest invites readers to ponder an elderly woman poisoned before she could change her will, in an early story (and cover) by future Marvel and Conan legend John Buscema. Payment In Blood; Cult of the Killers; Great Unsolved Mysteries: Murder for Aunt Martha; Wanted: Ralph Jackson; Hot Silk. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.