Auctions: comic books October 1955

Foxhole (1954) 6 CGC 4.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4388597006

Cover by Jack Kirby. Stories and art by Jack Kirby, Carl Wessler, Jo Albistur, Art Gates, Bill Draut, and Rocke Mastroserio. Gritty war comics "produced by veterans," (as the tagline proclaims) created and originally published by comics legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. A wounded American soldier hides out in a French house that is soon occupied by Nazis. An American and a Nazi soldier have a fateful encounter. A WAC caught in the Battle of the Bulge has a secret reason for her battlefield bravery, in a rare action-girl story for the era. Decision at Dieppe!; Hazard; Even Steven!; G.I. Laughs; Secret; Listen to the Boidie; The 50th Man; Dear Joan! 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Shock Illustrated (1955) 1 CGC 5.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4378731006

Painted cover by Jack Kamen. Stories by Daniel Keyes and Robert Bernstein. Art by Jack Kamen, Joe Orlando, Wally Wood, and Johnny Craig. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, published in response to the Comics Code, featuring slice-of-life tales in text stories copiously illustrated by EC's lineup of artists. This first issue focused on psychology-themed stories, similar to EC's 1955 comic Psychoanalysis. A key-swapping party for bored suburbanites results in a temporary split in Beth and Jim's marriage, and a trip to the psychiatrist. Teenage dope addict Peggy sees a psychiatrist after her life falls apart and she's jailed on multiple charges. A teen becomes a leather-jacked juvenile delinquent and murders a stranger with a switchblade, encompassing many of the fears of middle-class America of the 1950s. Featuring some stories by Daniel Keyes, later the author of the science fiction classic Flowers for Algernon. The Needle; Switch Party; The Jacket. 8 1/2-in. x 11-in., 60 pages, B&W with single-color accents. Cover price $0.25.