Auctions: comic books 1954, graded by CGC

Chamber of Chills (1952-1954 Harvey 2nd Series) 22 CGC 6.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4405340004

Cover by Lee Elias. Stories and art by Jack Sparling, Howard Nostrand, Joe Certa, John Giunta and Manny Stallman. Harvey Comics joins the parade of pre-Code horror comics pioneered by EC in the 1950s. A disfigured man knows he must eventually show his face to the woman he loves. A fugitive criminal forces a scientist to use his reincarnation machine on him. Scientists discover a subterranean society and its sinister lottery. The Ugly Duckling; A Model Girl; Reincarnation; Lottery; Chilly Chamber Music: Songs from the Spook Box; The Satchel; The Skeptic! 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Foxhole (1954) 1 CGC 6.0

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4388597001

Cover by Jack Kirby. Stories and art by Jo Albistur, Bill Walton, John Prentice, and Bill Draut. Gritty war comics "produced by veterans" (as the tagline proclaims) from Mainline, the publisher founded by comics legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, creators of Captain America. An American soldier captured during the Korean War is subjected to brainwashing techniques by the enemy. A soldier writes a letter home to his mother, but the visuals in the story provide a stark counterpoint to his reassuring lies about a trip to the beach. American soldiers stationed in Britain woo two beautiful women during the London Blitz. Cover by Jack Kirby is based on a painting by acclaimed artist Joseph Hirsch. Brain Wash; Casualty; A Day at the Beach; Fox-Hole Joe; Operation Foul-Up; Eight Ball Hero; Fruit Salad. 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Foxhole (1954) 2 CGC 6.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4388597002

Cover by Jack Kirby. Stories and art by Jack Kirby, Hy Fleishman, and Bill Draut. Gritty war comics "produced by veterans" (as the tagline proclaims) from Mainline, the publisher founded by comics legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, creators of Captain America. In a suspenseful Kirby tale, a soldier slowly approaches a seemingly deserted Korean farmhouse. A Korean spy tries to lure American soldiers into a trap, but he makes one crucial mistake. Sarge and his men know they must fight their way out of the Hotbox. Booby Trap; Action; Walkie-Talkie; Hot Box; Dishonorable Discharge; Yellow; Replacement. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Haunt of Fear (1950 E.C. Comics 2nd Series) 24 CGC 4.0

Paper: Off white

Label #4390315003

Cover art by Graham Ingels. Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes...--The Witch's Cauldron!, script by Otto Binder, art by Graham Ingels; A blob story that features a cuckolded moonshine-swilling mountain man as the vengeful blob creature that is created when his wife and her lover shove him into a still to drown and be dissolved with a bag of lye. ...Only Sin Deep--The Vault of Horror!, script by Otto Binder, art by Jack Kamen; A heartless young woman pawns her beauty for 1000.00 to a shopkeeper she assumes is a crank. The Secret--Haunt of Fear, script by Carl Wessler, art by George Evans. Head-Room!--The Crypt of Terror, script by Carl Wessler, art by Jack Davis. 36 pgs. $0.10. NOTE: Used in Senate Investigative Report, page 8. Cover price $0.10.

Strange Mysteries (1951 Superior) 15 CGC 2.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4258134002

Jack Kamen-ish art and stories. "The Corpse Comes Back"; A lawyer murders his partner and buries the body in 5 states; The dead man is stitched together and sent back to get revenge; His body falls apart and the lawyer tries to destroy him with acid and bury him in a trunk. "Black Pearls of Death"; Two men force islanders to dive for them to steal black pearls from a sunken idol; Once they get the pearls, they kill the islanders. "Horror's House" text story by John Martin. "Over His Dead Body"; A woman suspects that her husband returning from a business trip is abnormal; His skin is cold and he never sleeps; He refuses medical exams; She cheats on him. "Horror Unseen"; A scientist accidentally turns into a glass man; He steals money and wears makeup to fool his new bride; She is suspicious, discovers that he is glass, and is killed by him. 36 pgs., full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.