Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: acg, pre-code horror, Richard E. Hughes

The Groundbreaking Horror of Adventures Into the Unknown #1 at Auction

Adventures into the Unknown from publisher ACG is a vastly underrated comic book series which launched with stories by Frank Belknap Long.

Adventures into the Unknown from publisher ACG (American Comics Group) is a vastly underrated comic book title. Regarded as the first ongoing American comic book horror series, the title lasted 174 issues from Fall 1948 to August 1967 — several months before other publishers began to ease into horror-focused titles, and about a year and a half before EC Comics' horror titles began in earnest.  Adventures into the Unknown is underrated from a creative standpoint as well. The series maintained a high standard for stories and art throughout, under the editorship of industry pioneer Richard E. Hughes. And most of the debut issue's stories were written by horror and science fiction legend Frank Belknap Long. There's a copy of high grade example of Adventures Into the Unknown #1 (ACG, 1948) CGC FN/VF 7.0 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.

Frank Belknap Long began writing for pulps in 1924 with Weird Tales.  He became a close friend of H.P. Lovecraft and made early contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos.  Long had expanded his range to science fiction by the 1930s, in pulp titles such as Astounding Science Fiction and others.  By the late 1940s, Long was also writing comic books and contributed the scripts for most of the stories of the first two issues of Adventures into the Unknown, as well as stories for several other early issues.

Long's stories for Adventures into the Unknown #1 include a fascinating mix of horror tales from historical to modern.  One interesting choice for this issue is his brief but effective adaptation of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto:

The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole, is generally viewed as the first Gothic novel. Its first edition, published in 1764, claimed to be a translation of a work printed in Naples in 1529 and newly discovered in the library of 'an ancient Catholic family in the north of England'. It tells the story of Manfred, the prince of Otranto, who is keen to secure the castle for his descendants in the face of a mysterious curse.

American Comics Group, which published newsstand comic books from 1943 to 1967, was owned by Fred Iger, with DC Comics owner Harry Donenfeld becoming a co-owner in the early 1960s. Writer/editor Richard E. Hughes ran the line. The publisher is best remembered for the launch of the first ongoing horror-comics title, Adventures into the Unknown, and the satirical-humor hero Herbie Popnecker who was introduced in the Forbidden Worlds series. ACG is underappreciated for its ability to navigate the transition into the Comic Code era which ended many other publishers of its kind.

Artists collaborating with Long on this issue include Fred Guardineer, Edvard Moritz, Max Elkan, King Ward, and Al Ulmer. An important and incredibly underrated moment in the history of American comics, there's a copy of Adventures Into The Unknown #1 (ACG, 1948) Condition: VG and several other issues of the series available in this week's 2022 July 10-11 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122228 at Heritage Auctions.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!