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.
Vintage Paper Archives
L.B. Cole produced a number of stand-out Pre-Code Horror covers during his Star Publications era.
This Magazine is Haunted #16 (Charlton, 1954) features the second-ever Steve Ditko cover, and the highest-graded copy is up for auction. #Ditko #sponsored
Superior Comics' 1951-1955 Pre-Code Horror title Strange Mysteries featured stand-out art from Iger Studio, including Matt Baker.
The "Death Wheel" in 1952's Tim Holt #30 cover by Frank Bolle has long been a matter of interest to people who research the Zodiac killer.
Hillman hired Crime Does Not Pay creators Charles Biro and Bob Wood to launch Clue Comics for them, but it seems not to have worked as planned.
Testifying before a Senate Subcommittee seems to have made publisher William K. Friedman angry, because his subsequent comics like Fight Against Crime pushed boundaries even more.
Avon's 1947 Eerie Comics #1 is considered the first Pre-Code Horror comic book, and the publisher eventually battled Ziff-Davis over their own Eerie Adventures.
Crime Does Not Pay is perhaps the most notorious title in American comic book history, and issue #24 is one of its most notorious issues.
The Challenger was a four issue series from 1945-1946 designed to fight prejudice and discrimination featuring work by Joe Kubert and others.
One of the most sought-after Pre-Code Horror comics, Bill Everett's cover for Venus #19 is a fitting reflection of the "Kiss of Death."
Venus #18 (Marvel, 1952) is sought after for Bill Everett's phenomenally creepy cover, but Everett also revisits the ocean depths here in a way that foreshadows Submariner's return in Fantastic Four #4.
Ace's Challenge of the Unknown #6 was supposed to level-up their PCH line, running afoul of the NY State Legislature in the process.
In an important moment for Pre-Code Horror, American Comics Group and Ace Magazines waged a war involving the usage of "Unknown."
Crime Reporter #1 is a classic late-1940s crime comic featuring a villain named Dr. Morphine and an exclusive spot called Zombie Club.
Journey into Unknown Worlds #28 appears to be the last time a zombie appeared on a Marvel cover for 19 years. The highest-graded CGC 8.5 copy is up for auction.
The creature on Norman Saunders' Stories from Another World #4 cover may look like a zombie, but it turns out to be something even worse.
Legendary artist Don Heck created many memorable covers over the years, but his cover for 1953's Horrific #3 might be his most infamous.
Underappreciated artist Harry Anderson created some of the most memorable Marvel horror covers of the Pre-Code era, and Marvel Tales #124 is a classic.
Gus Ricca's nightmare vision of a comic artist being destroyed by his own work is just one example of his interpretive approach to comic horror.
Bill Everett was a prolific contributor to Marvel/Atlas's Pre-Code era, and created many underappreciated covers from this period.
D.S. Publishing's Exposed True Crime Cases contained some cold-blooded material even by the standards of the pre-Code era.
Spicy History Stories #4: How a now-obscure publisher founded in 1868 became an important paperback, pulp and comic book publisher.
Marvel's Man Comics #26 from 1953 features a Spider-Man prototype radiation-transformed human spider at Los Alamos Laboratory.
Weird Tales artist Vince Napoli's story in Beware #12 is about a comic horror artist who finds new inspiration during a creative dry spell.
Who Is Next #5 is both brutal crime comic and a surprising look at how the 1950s criminal justice system handled mental health issues.
Chilling Tales #16 is a Pre-Code Horror comic book classic with stories by Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Allan Poe.
Chesler's Punch Comics #19 is underrated for its horror-focused cover that preceded the era when Pre-Code Horror boomed in the comics.
Zombie by Bill Everett debuted in Menace #5 from Marvel/Atlas in 1953, and would return to enter the Marvel Universe 20 years later.
Witches Tales #25 (Harvey, 1954) is a classic among two different groups of people for two different reasons that involve the same story.