Auctions: comic books May 1953

Journey into Mystery (1952) 8 GD- 1.8

2 1/2" cumulative spine split. Cover oxidation.

Cover by Russ Heath. "The Tough Guy," script by Stan Lee, art by Joe Maneely; A muscleman gets pistol whipped and winds up in the hospital; He overhears a conversation between two doctors about a serum that toughens the body so he decides to take it and turn to crime with his powerful body. "Indoor Sport!," art by Sam Kweskin; A female ghost acquires pictures of men from potential suitors and throws darts into them to inflict pain and death upon the men in revenge for a man who once jilted her. "Willie Brown Is Out to Get Me!," script by Stan Lee, art by Al Luster; People tell a thug that Willie Brown is after him, which terrifies him, since he shot Willie Brown a week ago and he is now a zombie. "Time Reversal" text story. "He Who Hesitates...," art by Al Eadeh; A hesitant professor finally decides to kill the romeo who's moving in on his wife, but as usual, he waits a little too long and the other man pushes him off the cliff instead so that he can marry the professor's wife. "The Strange Case of Mr. Whimple!," art by Fred Kida; A thief attacks a man who always carries a box around on his shoulder with a blackjack and kills him. 36 pgs., full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Marvel Family (1945 Fawcett) 83 VG- 3.5

Only one staple (manufacturing).

Stories and art by Otto Binder, Kurt Schaffenberger and Howard Boughner. Fawcett's most popular heroes, the original Captain Marvel (Shazam) and family, in solo and shared adventures. While visiting Pa Potter, Billy, Mary and Freddy discover an old treasure map and go in search of lost treasure. This Goonies-style adventure takes a left turn with the appearance of the Scarlet Skull and his army of zombies, something only the Marvels can handle. Headline Harry's hand-grenade joke gets him assigned to the underworld beat. The Flying Skull; FBI Triumphs; Lazy Lee; Boxcar Benny; The Marvel Family Puzzle Page; Headline Harry: The Handy Hand Grenade; Wilbur the Waiter; Rubbernose Randolph; The Marvel Family Battles Chief Thundercloud. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Weird Fantasy (1951 E.C. Comics 2nd Series) 19 CGC 4.0

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4467000019

Cover art by Joe Orlando. Al Williamson is profiled on inside front cover (includes a photo of the artist). "King of the Grey Spaces!" script by Ray Bradbury (original) and Al Feldstein (adaptation), pencils by John Severin, inks by Bill Elder; A group of boys watch the launching of a rocket ship, and two of them wish that they were older and could make the trip themselves; They apply for the Interplanetary Patrol and await their decision once they turn 21, but soon Chris gets a surprise that will change his life forever; adaptation of "R Is For Rocket" by Ray Bradbury. "Hot-Rod!", script by Bill Gaines (co-plot) and Al Feldstein (co-plot and script), art by Jack Kamen; Amos and Sally are driving by a lake when a strangely garbed man jumps up on the running board of their car and drops a package in the back seat; Later, Amos looks at the package, postmarked May 15, 2053, and discovers something called a trans-dimensional transporter inside; Thinking it to be some sort of gadget to soup up his hot-rod, Amos installs the device, traveling into the future. "Cleanser" text story. "Brain-Child!", script by Al Feldstein, pencils by Al Williamson, inks by Al Williamson and Roy Krenkel; Colonel Dane is selected to pilot a brand-new spaceship, powered by an electronic brain, which enables this vessel to be a virtual one-man war rocket; While it seems the rocketship could operate itself with no human pilot, the drawback is the ship is void of emotion: it cannot hate, it doesn't know love and it cannot create. "Time For a Change!", script by Al Feldstein, art by Joe Orlando. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.10.