Auctions: comic books 1953

Action Comics (1938 DC) 178 GD 2.0

2.25" Cumulative spine split. Cover oxidation.

Cover art by Win Mortimer. The Sandman of Crime starring Superman, pencils by Wayne Boring, inks by Stan Kaye. Congorilla! starring Congo Bill, art by Ed Smalle. Good Neighbor Spirit starring Binky, script by Jack Schiff, art by Win Mortimer. The Problem Pet from Space starring Tommy Tomorrow, art by Jim Mooney. The Outlaw Stallion starring Vigilante, art by Bob Brown. 44 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Classics Illustrated 110 A Study in Scarlet (1953) 1 VG+ 4.5

A Study in Scarlet, 1st printing, Painted Cover. Sherlock Holmes stars in "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." Art by Seymour Moskowitz. Comic book adaptation of the classic detective story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that introduced Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson to the world. Issue also has an comic book adaptation of another Sherlock Holmes story, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and a text biography on Doyle and text stories on "Our American Heritage" and "Stories from the World of Sports." (HRN 111, with 8/53 date). Cover price $0.15.

Forbidden Worlds (1951 ACG) 23 VG+ 4.5

Cover oxidation. Water spotting.

Cover by Ken Bald. Edited by Richard E. Hughes. Art by Charles Nicholas, Bill Walsh and Harry Lazarus. An anthology series featuring tales of fantasy, horror, and science fiction from legendary early independent comics publisher ACG. A mad scientist creates horrifying insect-animal hybrids; A robot falls in love with a woman and goes on a rampage; A ghost ship appears over the South Pacific with a crew of undead privateers. Nightmare for Two!; The Mummy That Lived; The Machine That Fell in Love; The Thing in the Bottle!; Terror of the Deep! 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Hand of Fate (1951 Ace) 16 FR/GD 1.5

1 1/2" spine split from bottom. Water damage. Cover oxidation.

Specters Stalk the Bloody Tower; England, 1940, height of the "blitz"; A German collaborator is brought to justice and hanged by the ghosts of the London Tower. The Clock of Doom Strikes Loud!; A "selfish man" dies and meets Fate, leading him to the afterlife; The man tries to cheat his demise by entering three doors back into life, labeled "Money," "Power" and "Love". The Black Curse of Rhan Giva, art by Louis Zansky; After the death of Mr. Wingate, his indian servant tries to get control over his lovely daughter; He traps her in a magic doll house. Havoc on the Midway; A circus stage hand makes pact with the devil; He gets the magician's act, the strongman's girl and inherits the whole operation. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Haunted Thrills (1952) 9 CGC 4.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4141723023

Pre-Code horror comics from Ajax-Farrell and their anonymous talents. A man kills his wife, but she won't stay in the coffin. An art critic's latest objet d'art contains a demon. A female sculptor's jungle refuge succeeds with the help of a mysterious stranger. Madness of Terror; Devil on His Shoulder; The Genius. 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Men's Adventures (1951 Marvel/Atlas) 24 GD- 1.8 (R)

Trimmed

TRIMMED on all three edges. Staple rust.

Sol Brodsky cover. "The Screaming Beasts" (art by George Tuska); "The Torture Master;" (art by Russ Heath); "No Guts!" (art by Joe Maneely); and "Buried Alive!" (art by John Romita). Two page text story, "The Terror at the Wayside Inn!" (Thanks to Grand Comics Database for the above artist information!) Cover price $0.10.

Mystery in Space (1951 1st Series) 17 CGC 8.5

Paper: White

Label #2139595013

"The Last Mile of Space" (cover/story art by Murphy Anderson), "The Man in the Moon," "The Thought Pirate," and "The Magnetic Duel" (art by Anderson). Carmen Infantino art? Anderson cover. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Space Adventures (1952 1st series) 7 CGC 4.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4006900009

Cover art by Dick Giordano. "Transformation," art by Dick Giordano; Anticipating nuclear war that would leave Earth barren of life, Lars Kranston convinces his colleagues to go to Mars; His paramour Betty Stone insists that she go as well; The ship crashes on Mars. "The Doomed Civilization," script by Carl Memling, pencils by Frank Frollo, inks by Vince Alascia; Commander Krait's crew begins receiving transmissions from an inhabitable planet called X-3-Z; Dr. Triple interprets the message; The message states society living there faces immanent destruction through war; Krait sends ships to stop the senseless destruction. "Simtone Saves the Space Officers" text story. "Homecoming," art by Stan Campbell; In the summer of 1953, Edmund Cranston presents his designs for a rocket ship to Dr. Corning at a large aircraft corporation; Cranston's only request is to be on the spacecraft maiden voyage to the moon. "Fateful Fluid," art by Art Cappello; When a professor perfects an elixir to transmute all it touches into gold, Kryn uses a "paralyzo ray" to freeze the professor; Kryn takes the potion for his own purposes. "Eternity in Space," art by Art Cappello; The Earth-Moon space station is a city floating between the Earth and the Moon; The city is constructed on an artificial wheel; Dr. Tero and Dr. Orso create two synthetic children; One is named Nors, the other Gri. Lars works on a fuel for spaceships; Both plan to win a contest for amazing feats. "Invasion" one-page story, art by Tony Tallarico. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.10.

Superman (1939 1st Series) 84 CGC 0.5 Restored

Restored: C1

Paper: Off white

Restoration Includes: Small Amount of Glue on Spine of Cover. 7th Wrap Missing

Label #4358958006

Cover art by Win Mortimer. Superman's Other Life, script by Bill Woolfolk, art by Al Plastino; Superman travels back in time and creates a new life for himself as a disc jockey. Jerry Jitterbug humor two-pager by Henry Boltinoff. A Doghouse For Superman, script by Bill Woolfolk, art by Al Plastino; Superman briefly becomes an alien's pet! Listen To the Cricket text article by Barry Havens. Lois Lane, Policewoman starring Superman, Cracker Moreau, and Silver Skene, script by Bill Finger, pencils by Wayne Boring, inks by Stan Kaye. 44 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Tales from the Crypt (1950 E.C. Comics) 39 PR 0.5

INTERIOR IS COMPLETE. Full length spine split with back cover missing. Cover and interior oxidation. Cover-to-cover edge tear.

Cover by Jack Davis. "Undertaking Palor," script by Al Feldstein, art by Jack Davis; Some boys peeping through an undertaker's basement window overhear a plot between the town druggist and undertaker to poison citizens to profit from their funeral costs. "The Craving Grave," script by Al Feldstein, art by Joe Orlando; This story is told by a grave; It speaks of spending lonely years of being laughed at by the other graves, because they have children (corpses) while the narrator remains barren. "Fire!" text story. "The Sleeping Beauty!", script by Al Feldstein, art by Jack Kamen; In this grim fairy tale, the REAL reason sleeping beauty spends all that time sleeping during the daytime hours turns out to be...aw, you guessed it. "Shadow of Death," script by Al Feldstein, art by Graham Ingels; The shadow of a corner newspaper dealer detaches itself from his body one evening and seizes the shadow of an axe in order to assault an unscrupulous competitor who is attempting to ruin him. 36 pgs., full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Three Dimension Adventures Superman 3-D (1953 DC) 1953A FR/GD 1.5 3D Glasses Included

Chew. Includes 3-D glasses.

Copy with original 3-D glasses. Three Dimension Adventures (of Superman) 1953 original edition. Stories include "The Man Who Stole the Sun," "The Origin of Superman," and "The Man Who Bossed Superman!" NOTE: There is a 1990s era reprint edition of this comic. 36 pages. Cover price $0.25.

Weird Fantasy (1951 E.C. Comics 2nd Series) 22 PR 0.5

Interior is complete. Full length spine split (taped). Missing back cover.

Final issue of the series (becomes Weird Science-Fantasy with issue #23). Cover art by Joe Orlando. "The Silent Towns," script by Ray Bradbury and Al Feldstein (adaptation), art by Reed Crandall; Walter surveys a little white silent town on the edge of a dead Martian sea, wondering what happened to all of its inhabitants; He suddenly hears a phone ringing, but he is too late to answer it; After this happens twice, he succeeds in answering a phone and finds a Miss Selsor on the other end, and he meets her, only to find that she is fat and ugly; An adaptation of a Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles story. "The Freaks," script by Bill Gaines (co-plot) and Al Feldstein (co-plot and script), art by Jack Kamen; The freaks at a circus side show are sick and tired of the stares of the crowds, their snickers, their groans of disgust...and one decides to quit. But when the freak is found dead in his tent, the circus owners go in search for a replacement. "Public Service!" text story. "The Fossil," script by Bill Gaines (co-plot) and Al Feldstein (co-plot, script), art by Joe Orlando; Astronauts land on a deserted planet and begin hunting for archaeological evidence of the former inhabitants; They find a huge skeleton of a creature that apparently walked on all fours, but are baffled by its nature. "Derelict Ship," script by Bill Gaines (co-plot) and Al Feldstein (co-plot, script), art by Bernie Krigstein; Captain Vance Kaye is the commanding officer of an exploratory spaceship; He's obsessed with searching every derelict ship his crew discovers, but nobody knows why. 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Weird Mysteries (1952 Gillmore) 3 CGC 3.5

Paper: Off white to white

Slab: See item notes

Minor side edge crack(s), less than 1".

Label #4270380001

Cover by Bernard Baily. Stories and art by Charles Stern, Tony Mortellaro and Ross Andru. Pre-Code tales of horror from Stanley Morse Publications. A surgeon's lifelong rival beats him to a prestigious position, so he cuts off his hand, in a story by future Marvel artist Ross Andru (and possibly his longtime inker Mike Esposito). Paul inherits his uncle's castle, and also his family legacy of monster-making. A subway worker discovers giant ants beneath the city. While the Iron Was Hot; Hand of Fate; Your Name on It; The Disbeliever; The Castle of Fear. 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Weird Tales of the Future (1952) 6 CGC 3.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4257046005

Cover by Bernard Baily. Stories and art by Tony Mortellaro, Eugene Hughes, and Hy Fleishman. Pre-Code tales of science fiction and horror from Stanley Morse Publications. Humans in the near-perfect society of 2053 set out to eliminate disease. A scientist who manages to shrink down in size is accidentally swallowed by a colleague. Plus an adventure of whimsical spacefaring hero Jumpin' Jupiter. Classic alien-abduction cover by Bernard Baily. Time and Tide; Plaything; The Purple Mists; Death Rides the Galaxy; Jonah; The Beginning or the End! 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.