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Robot Women and a Fear of Ants in Mister Mystery #11, at Auction

Mister Mystery #11 featured one of the most memorable covers of the Pre-Code Horror era by Spectre co-creator Bernard Baily.

Published Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:30:09 -0500

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:22:54 -0500

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Stanley Morse might have been the most "Does not give a f—-" publisher in the comic book industry during the Pre-Code era, and that's saying something. Via various imprints like Aragon, Gillmor, Key Publications, and others, he put out some of the most intensely memorable horror comic books of the 1950s. Bernard Baily, the co-creator of the Spectre at DC Comics, was one of Morse's go-to cover artists, and his cover of Mister Mystery #11 is one of the most infamous covers of this run. An issue that's always in demand by Pre-Code Collectors, there's a copy of Mister Mystery #11 (Aragon, 1953) CGC FN 6.0 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.

While no interior story in Mister Mystery #11 matches Baily's bonkers ant torture cover here, the entire issue is PCH excellence. The stand-out here is the lead feature here Beauty and the Beast! by Basil Wolverton, in which a fashion designer creates a robot woman to model his creations. If you've seen the 2014 film Ex Machina, you know exactly where that goes.

Mister Mystery lasted for 19 issues 1951-1954, an impressive lifespan for a Pre-Code Horror title, and no doubt a testament to the notion that Morse understood what fans wanted from the genre. The title derives from a "horror host" of the same name who narrated the series stories. An iconic PCH issue that rarely changes hands in anything above low grade, there's a copy of Mister Mystery #11 (Aragon, 1953) CGC FN 6.0 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.

Mister Mystery #11 (Aragon, 1953) CGC FN 6.0 Off-white to white pages. The highest-graded copy of this highly coveted pre-Code horror book. Bernard Baily's covers for this infamous title provided unexpected chills to those who associated him more with his earlier and less edgy DC work. This is one of Baily's most famous covers of the titles run. Basil Wolverton contributed interior art for this issue. Overstreet 2022 FN 6.0 value = $918. CGC census 3/23: 4 in 6.0, 9 higher.