ADVENTURES INTO DARKNESS #10 * 3.5 * Classic "Beware"

Heading:
Author:
Title: ADVENTURES INTO DARKNESS No. 10
Place Published:
Publisher:Standard [Indicia: Visual Editions, Inc.]
Date Published: June, 1953
Description:

VG- (3.5). Spine stress, staples pulled, 1½" split to bottom spine, tiny chips to front cover corners, ¼" creased tear to right edge, small chip to right edge, distributor's mark in ballpoint to top right corner of cover ("4-21-A"). Possibly slabbable at 4.0. Cream to off-white pages. Cover: Ross Andru. Art: George Roussos, Jack Katz, Art Saaf, Rocco Mastroserio, Mike Sekowsky. GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A 3.0 sold for $250 in May 2021; a 4.0 sold for $360 in October 2018.

If the frightened blonde on Ross Andru's cover looks familiar, it's because she was swiped (by Myron Fass?) and grafted onto the cover of Trojan's Beware #6 (Nov., 1953), alongside a corpse cadged from Jack Davis's "Graft in Concrete" (Vault of Horror #26, Aug.-Sept., 1952).

The pre-Code comics biz was a cesspool of swipes, rip-offs, graftings and shaftings of all varieties, and nobody had any illusions to the contrary. Comic books, produced under sweatshop conditions in the seedy underbelly of the publishing world, were considered ephemeral trash to which ordinary artistic standards did not apply. "Comics lurked alongside pulps, pornography, and dime novels at the bottom of the cultural ladder.... The very design of comic books suggested that the reader was supposed to destroy them. They contained coupons to cut out, full-page pinups to be ripped from the binding... Comic books were the epitome of disposable culture, if they were considered culture at all." — Paul S. Hirsch, Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism. University of Chicago: 2021, pp. 19-20.

A deluxe limited edition of 12 hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a small number of softcovers. 400 lots, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcover $40, deluxe hardcover with dust jacket and limitation plate $200. Eight of the 12 hardcovers are pre-ordered and the rest will go quickly, so reserve yours now. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2022 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of comics auctioneers. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." — R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.