Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: edgar allen poe, pre-code horror

The Mark of the Beast on 1953's Chilling Tales #16, Up for Auction

Chilling Tales #16 is a Pre-Code Horror comic book classic with stories by Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Allan Poe.

Published Wed, 03 Nov 2021 19:32:10 -0500

Last updated Sat, 19 Oct 2024 19:19:49 -0500

Article Summary

Discover the rare Chilling Tales #16, a Pre-Code Horror gem with classic stories by Kipling and Poe.
Dive into "The Mark of the Beast" and "Metzengerstein," showcasing chilling narratives and eerie themes.
Explore the mysterious cover art, possibly crafted by Adolphe Barreaux's Majestic Studio, enhancing its allure.

Chilling Tales #16 is the best of both worlds when it comes to Pre-Code Horror. It's got a wonderfully creepy cover, and some classic horror interiors to match. While we don't know who drew that cover, the contents here appear to have been assembled by Adolphe Barreaux's Majestic Studio. Barreaux was a longtime associate of DC Comics owner Harry Donenfeld, and worked with Donenfeld on everything from Police Gazette to his spicy pulp line, which made him an ideal candidate for editing a Pre-Code Horror title. That combination of cover, contents, and relative rarity in anything above low grade has made Chilling Tales #16 a sought-after issue of the series in recent times,

Chilling Tales #16 (Youthful Magazines, 1953)

The story content of Chilling Tales #16 is surprisingly sophisticated. The lead story (though not the cover story as is implied here) is "The Mark of the Beast" by Rudyard Kipling. In this 1890 tale, An Englishman in India "is cursed by the bite of a leper priest after he desecrates a Hindu temple. The short story describes his transformation from a man into a wolf-like creature." The second story in this issue is the first Edgar Allan Poe ever published. "Metzengerstein: A Tale in Imitation of the German" was first published in Philadelphia's Saturday Courier magazine, in 1832, and is the saga of two rival families and the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.

The cover artist of this issue is unknown. Artist Matt Fox did every other cover of the Chilling Tales series, but this cover doesn't appear to be a good fit for his style. Fox is best remembered for his work in pulps which included a number of Weird Tales covers. An underappreciated PCH comic book, there's a CGC FN 6.0 White pages copy of Chilling Tales #16 (Youthful Magazines, 1953) up for auction in the 2024 October 24 – 25 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40272 at Heritage Auctions.

Chilling Tales #16 (Youthful Magazines, 1953) CGC FN 6.0 White pages. Adapts "Metzengerstein" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Mark of the Beast" by Rudyard Kipling. Bondage, skull cover. Henry Kiefer art. Overstreet 2024 FN 6.0 value = $1,269. CGC census 10/24: 8 in 6.0, 6 higher.