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Weird Menace: The 1930s rise of the Shudder Pulps followed by the rise of the forces that ended them and transformed horror on the newsstand.
Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: pre-code horror, Superior Comics
The Pre-Code Horror of Superior Comics Title Mysteries, Up for Auction
Subtitled "Weird and Strange" on covers, Superior Comics' "Mysteries" is as obscure as Pre-Code Horror gets -- and with lots of skulls.
The incredibly obscure Mysteries Pre-Code Horror series is very tough to get, even by PCH standards. Its publisher Superior Publications was a Candian company that reprinted a wide range of material from U.S. publishers, but also created original material — sometimes for distribution in the U.S., but sometimes for distribution in Canada only. Like all comic books published for the Canadian market alone, Mysteries is much more difficult to get than U.S. Pre-Code Horror titles of the same time frame. Mysteries #6 is one of the toughest of the bunch, but none of them are easy. But there's a Mysteries #6 (Superior Comics, 1954) Condition: FR plus a bunch of other affordable copies of issues from the series up for auction 2022 July 24-25 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122230 at Heritage Auctions.
The series lasted for 11 issues from 1953 to early 1955, likely killed when publisher Superior saw the writing on the wall with the approach of the Comics Code. Surprisingly little is known about the creators involved in this series, except that a writer credited as John Martin created the text stories for several issues, as he did for other Superior horror titles. Jay Disbrow and Iger Studio may have been involved in some artwork for the series. Despite this lack of info, the prevalence of skull or skeleton-themed covers have made the series a favorite of Pre-Code Horror collectors ever since. An obscure but noteworthy Pre-Code Horror series, there's a Mysteries #6 (Superior Comics, 1954) Condition: FR plus a bunch of other affordable copies of issues from the series up for auction 2022 July 24-25 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122230 at Heritage Auctions.
Mysteries #1 (Superior Comics, 1953) Condition: FR. Skull cover. All horror stories. Staples popped, spine split to staples from both ends. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $58.
Mysteries #6 (Superior Comics, 1954) Condition: FR. Cover Detached, spine splitting, and pages brittle. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $34.
Mysteries #7 (Superior Comics, 1954) Condition: GD. All horror stories. Half of cover split, and moisture damage. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $34.
Mysteries #9 (Superior Comics, 1954) Condition: GD/VG. Skull cover. All horror stories. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $34; VG 4.0 value = $68.
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