Auctions: comic books December 1952

Cowgirl Romances (1950 Fiction House) 12 FN- 5.5

Cover oxidation.

Art by Maurice Whitman and Pete Morisi. Tender tales of romance among the cowhands and roughnecks of the Old West. After a stagecoach mishap, a woman impersonates another to sneak onto a ranch. Stella Dawson realizes that her rodeo stablehands are horse thieves, and handsome Rick was the only one to warn her. A woman discovers one of her ranch hands is a deserter on the run from the Confederate army. The Ranch of Riddles; Love Rode In; Revenge on the Rebound; Send Back My Love; My Rebel Heart. Final issue of the series. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Eerie (1951 Avon Series) 10 CGC 5.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4433662014

Cover by Alvin C. Hollingsworth. Edited by Sol Cohen. Art by Alvin C. Hollingsworth, Harry Lazarus, Charles Nicholas, George Roussos and Everett Raymond Kinstler. Tales of horror from the era just before the Comics Code was introduced. A couple takes refuge in a haunted house, where they learn about the hidden treasure and the mad ghost of Uncle Ezra; A scientists assistant murders him for his new super-grow plant formula, but learns too late that it makes things grow anywhere; Statues in a wax museum come to life, and one has revenge on its mind. Great if inexplicable cover by Alvin C. Hollingsworth. Only the Dead Live Here!; Green Grows the Grass; World Below the Ground; Phantom of the Waxworks!; Castle of Terror! 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Fightin' Marines (1951 St. John/Charlton) 10 CGC 5.0

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4697725014

Cover by Matt Baker. Stories and art by Gene Colan and others. Charlton's long-running series focused on the miliary exploits of the US Marines throughout the 20th century. In Korea, Leatherneck Jack and Monte must rescue two Allied soldiers after their plane is shot down over enemy lines, in a story with early art by future Marvel legend Gene Colan. Knowing he is soon to be transferred to a desk job, Sgt. Gale elects to make his last stand on a Korean battlefield. The other Marines hate Davey's guitar playing, until it proves to turn the tide when they are trapped on the battlefield. Cover by good-girl art legend Matt Baker. Leatherneck Jack: Danger Patrol; Tripoli Shores: Rapid-Fire Eviction; One-Man Army; Just an Old Leatherneck; Quips and Queries; Gag Bag; Davey's Guitar! 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Four Color (1942-1962 Dell 2nd Series) 437 VG 4.0

Cover oxidation.

Indicia title is "Edgar Rice Burroughs' JOHN CARTER OF MARS, No. 437." Cover art by Jesse Marsh. The Black Pirates of Omean, art by Jesse Marsh; After ten years away from Mars, John Carter is finally able to return and finds himself in the Valley Dor, where every Martian comes at the end of life; When savage plant men attack three Tharks. John is able to save one, who coincidently is an old friend, Tars Tarkas; John and Tars escape the plant men through a passage that leads them into the city of the Therns; There they rescue a slave girl, Thuvia, and learn the Therns are being raided by the Black Pirates of Omean, who have captured Dejah Thoris, John's wife on Barsoom; John takes over a pirate cruiser where Phaidor, the princess of Thern is held; After John defeats the pirate captain Xodar, the three go to the Temple of Issus deep under the South Pole of Mars. Illustration of John Carter and Dejah Thoris on back cover by Marsh. 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Marmaduke Mouse (1946 Quality) 34 PR 0.5

INCOMPLETE. Multiple pages missing, interrupts art and story. Full length spine split. Brittle.

Mysterious Adventures (1951) 11 FR/GD 1.5

4" Cumulative spine split. Cover oxidation.

Pre-Code tales of horror and the supernatural from Story Comics. Irish sailor Denny seeks the wreckage of the ship where his sweetheart died, and instead finds a zombie pirate, in a reworking of an old legend. Superstitious movie star Kurt Cameron unwisely ignores the advice of Madam Arlando, who says he should avoid a film shoot in Africa. Big-cat circus trainer Marco is actually terrified of his job, but keeps doing it because he doesn't want Lola to know he's a coward. The Terror of the Sunken Ships; The Ghost's Seance!; The Whip of Death; A Gravedigger's Terror!; The Cage of Horror! 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Out of the Night (1952) 6 CGC 5.0

Paper: Off white

Label #4697724025

Cover art by Ken Bald. The Ghoul's Revenge, art by Harry Lazarus. The Wolf-Children of Bengal, art by Pete Riss. The Monster of the Mist, art by Art Gates. The Case of the Phantom Plane, pencils by Dick Beck. True Ghosts of History, art by Harry Lazarus. Fiend of the Undead, art by Jon Blummer. Phantom Armies—Aschen, art by Harry Lazarus. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Shock Suspenstories (1952 EC) 6 CGC 7.0

Paper: Cream to off white

Slab: Significant scratch(es) front or back

Adhesive removing chemical has affected slab surface (label area, back).

Label #1102677010

Cover art by Wally Wood. Dead Right!, script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Jack Kamen; A fortune teller predicts to a woman that a man who wants to marry her, but she finds repulsive, is going to inherit twenty-five thousand dollars and die shortly afterward, so she marries him. Under Cover!, script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Wally Wood; When Sam Masters sees a secret society whip a girl to death he tries to contact the F.B.I. before they can catch him. The Bend! text story by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Marie Severin. Not So Tough!, script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Joe Orlando; A space commander who is as tough as nails on his crew is reduced to soft putty in the grip of a large gravitational force. Sugar 'N Spice 'N..., script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Graham Ingels (as Ghastly); A brother and sister lose their ball in the yard of an old woman whom they referred to as "The Old Crab"; She eventually gave them the ball back, but warned them to stay away. 36 pgs. $0.10. NOTE: This issue was reprinted by East Coast Comics with a $1 cover a 1970's copyright date (see E.C. Classic Reprints #8). These and other changes make the reprint easy to distinguish from the original which has a 10-cent cover price and a 1950's publication date. Cover price $0.10.

Shock Suspenstories (1952 EC) 6 FR/GD 1.5

4" Spine split from top. Cover detached. Water damage.

Cover art by Wally Wood. Dead Right!, script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Jack Kamen; A fortune teller predicts to a woman that a man who wants to marry her, but she finds repulsive, is going to inherit twenty-five thousand dollars and die shortly afterward, so she marries him. Under Cover!, script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Wally Wood; When Sam Masters sees a secret society whip a girl to death he tries to contact the F.B.I. before they can catch him. The Bend! text story by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Marie Severin. Not So Tough!, script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Joe Orlando; A space commander who is as tough as nails on his crew is reduced to soft putty in the grip of a large gravitational force. Sugar 'N Spice 'N..., script by Albert B. Feldstein, art by Graham Ingels (as Ghastly); A brother and sister lose their ball in the yard of an old woman whom they referred to as "The Old Crab"; She eventually gave them the ball back, but warned them to stay away. 36 pgs. $0.10. NOTE: This issue was reprinted by East Coast Comics with a $1 cover a 1970's copyright date (see E.C. Classic Reprints #8). These and other changes make the reprint easy to distinguish from the original which has a 10-cent cover price and a 1950's publication date. Cover price $0.10.

Strange Tales (1951 1st Series) 13 CGC 5.0

Paper: Light tan to off white

Label #0287117027

Cover art by Bill Everett. The Witching Hours!, art by Ed Goldfarb; A man marries the beautiful daughter of a witch. The Power of Hatred text story. Death Makes a Deal!, art by Ed Robbins; A washed-up reporter needs to come up with a scoop or he will be fired; He meets Death, who reveals future tragedies to him so that he can write up the stories. The Hiding Place, script by Carl Wessler, art by John Tartaglione; Three crooks hide the money they've stolen and agree to retrieve it in a year. The Bugs, art by Larry Woromay. The Secret of Christopher Morse, art by Ed Winiarski. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Two Fisted Tales (1950 EC) 30 VG 4.0

Centerfold detached at one staple.

Cover by Jack Davis. Stories by Harvey Kurtzman. Art by Ric Estrada, Wally Wood, Gene Colan, and Jack Davis. Harvey Kurtzman's legendary series enlisted top EC artists for gritty tales of war and adventure. A veteran pilot observes a cadet's training all the way to the level of fighter ace, with art by Jack Davis. Civilians on Wake Island get a rude awakening after Pearl Harbor, in an early story by future Marvel legend Gene Colan. Medieval peasants long for a defender to free them from their cruel feudal lord, with art by Wally Wood. Gritty, atmospheric cover by Jack Davis. 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.