Silver Streak Comics #6 introduced a character who would have an important impact on Golden Age comics and beyond with Daredevil.
pre-code horror Archives
The creation of artist Frank Bolle, the masked hero Black Phantom had a classic villain-to-hero story arc in the pages of the Tim Holt comic.
Marvel's original Werewolf by Night story appeared in Marvel Tales #116, cover-dated July 1953 in a Pre-Code Horror classic.
L.B. Cole's science fiction and horror covers on Star Publication's Blue Bolt run are a spectacular example of his cover work.
An obscure series that combined crime with horror, Ribage Publishing's Crime Mysteries had contributors ranging from Frazetta to Myron Fass.
Magno the Magnetic Man was the underappreciated star of Ace Periodicals' long-running Super-Mystery Comics title.
An issue of a memorable Pre-Code Horror title that contains a story of an extremely popular supernatural figure rarely seen in U.S comic books, there's a copy of The Unseen #9 (Standard, 1953) up for auction in the 2022 July 3-4 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122227.
The Unseen #9 (Standard, 1953) featuring La[...]
Bulletdog was arguably the first "superdog companion" of the Golden Age, setting the stage for Krypto and other superpets to follow.
Cole cover, and a tougher get as well, but there's a Suspense Comics #4 (Continental Magazines, 1944) CGC Apparent VG 4.0 Moderate (B-3) Off-white pages, plus another early Cole cover with Suspense Comics #7 (Continental Magazines, 1944) Condition: VG and other issues of the series up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14[...]
And in reality, Harvey has often been underappreciated as a publisher of some of the best horror of the Pre-Code Horror era, with uniformly good stories and some excellent covers and eyeball-blazing colors. The Lee Elias zombie cover here is a stand-out example of that, and there's a Tomb of Terror #16 Northford Pedigree (Harvey,[...]
We've talked about the fascinating and sometimes weird comics from industry pioneer Harry Chesler several times in recent months. Chesler titles such as Punch Comics, Red Seal Comics, and Spotlight Comics among others run the gamut from crime, superheroes, humor — and often even horror. Although they technically preceded the era that Pre-Code Horror collectors[...]
Mysterious Adventures from publisher Story Comics was as notorious as Pre-Code Horror gets. Mysterious Adventures #18 was mentioned in the U.S Senate investigative report into comics and juvenile delinquency in 1954. Mysterious Adventures #20 was used by Fredric Wertham during the Senate Subcommittee hearings themselves that year. Story Comics owner William K Friedman was grilled[...]
The Marvel/Atlas title Astonishing started life with the name Marvel Boy in 1950, with the series being renamed Astonishing with the third issue. While the series still featured the Marvel Boy character until issue #6 (although his last cover on the title was with Astonishing #5), the rebooted series took a clear and harder turn towards horror. The Pre-Code portion of this[...]
The last time we posted about an issue of the obscure Pre-Code Horror title Captain Science, it turned out to be an absolute gem of an issue that fused science fiction and horror in a way that only 1950s-era American Cold War pop culture could achieve. Captain Science #7 is another surprisingly great entry in[...]
Cole paired with a weird Lost World-style interior story by Jay Disbrow is a match made in Pre-Code Horror heaven (or hell, as the case may be). We've said this before about these Star Publications titles: Cole covers of this era are unfailingly a treat that pokes you right in the eyeballs Cole and Disbrow made[...]
Monster #1, a Fiction House publication from 1953, has one of the more unique covers from this pre-code horror auction that has been going on at Heritage Maurice Whitman is responsible for the cover, which features a green monster taking hold of a damsel in distress while also bashing a man to death. It's a[...]
Months before the launch of the Comics Code,1954 Marvel/Atlas release Journey Into Unknown Worlds #27 featured "Somewhere Waits the Vampire"
Suspense #7 has a lead story from the legendary Gene Colan, creator of Falcon, Carol Danvers and Blade, at the beginning of his comic book career.
A key crime comic book from an important series and by a noteworthy creator, there's a copy of True Crime Comics #3 (Magazine Village, 1948) CGC VG+ 4.5 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.
True Crime Comics[...]
Tales of Horror #8 is a textbook example of the importance of the power of a good comic book cover. This classic Pre-Code Horror cover by artist Mel Keefer based on the feature "The Big Snake" in this issue is the key factor that drives the interest in this title among Pre-Code Horror collectors, fitting[...]
John, 1954) Condition: VG-, all in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.
Nightmare #13, Amazing Ghost Stories #14 (St John, 1954)
Amazing Ghost Stories #14, which hit newsstands in late August 1954, is a particularly striking example of the film-style approach that makes these covers stand[...]
Pre-Code horror will never go out of style, as fans of gruesomeness and gore will always want what many considered too sinister at some point Case in point is Strange Mysteries #8, published by Superior Comics in 1952 This book features all kinds of gnarly stuff, including a man burned alive and a severed head,[...]
Heritage Auctions has a raw copy taking bids right now, with it currently sitting at $56, a steal for such a cool example of pre-code horror Check it out below.
Credit Heritage Auctions
The Beyond Always Had Some Of The Best Covers
"The Beyond #2 (Ace, 1951) Condition: VG/FN Warren Kremer vampire cover Mike Sekowsky art Water damage[...]
Menace #7's "The Witch in the Woods" by Stan Lee and Joe Sinnott in 1953 was a reaction to the comic book moral panic in the media of the era.
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.
Adventures Into The Unknown #1 (ACG, 1948)
Frank Belknap Long began writing for pulps[...]
Everett would contribute to about 200 Marvel/Atlas issues 1949-1954, including nearly 100 covers. On the title Venus, Everett contributed to a memorable seven-issue run in Venus #13-19 for which he is credited with the covers, scripts, art, and even letters on all of the interior Venus stories. All of these issues are highly sought-after by[...]
Heritage Auctions has more pre-code horror and sci-fi than you can shake a stick at, and for my money, this is one of the coolest, weirdest covers that I have seen go through there So much to unpack here Beware #12, published by Trojan in 1954, had to frighten people on the newsstand, right? The[...]
Cover price $0.10."
The Beyond is a collectible pre-code horror book, and anytime you add one to your collection is a special time And this might be the ultimate issue to grab Go ahead and click here to bid, and while you are there, check out the other books taking bids right now.
The Beyond #27[...]
Farrell Publication's Voodoo Annual #1 is a comic book that Pre-Code Horror collectors rarely want to part with, and it's easy to see why. It's a scarce 100-page giant squarebound edition comic book that includes Matt Baker art from the height of the notoriously-difficult Pre-Code era. Although the title is part of publisher Farrell Publications[...]
Marvel is not the first publisher to come to mind when we think of the Pre-Code Horror era of the late 1940s through the early 1950s, but perhaps it should be. Not only did the publisher enter the horror genre in earnest before EC Comics, but it was also the driving force of the market[...]