BLACK CAT MYSTERY #44 * 1.0 * Howard NOSTRAND * The

Heading:
Author:
Title: BLACK CAT MYSTERY No. 44
Place Published:
Publisher:Harvey [Indicia: Home Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: June, 1953
Description:

Fair (1.0). Cover detached, cover almost but not quite split at spine, mild spine roll, edgewear, 1½" tear to front cover, several chips and tears to back cover, pages dampsoiled at top corner, bottom right corner slightly bumped, 2" tear to one page. Cream to light tan pages. Cover: Lee Elias. Art: Bob Powell, Joe Certa, Jack Sparling, Howard Nostrand. GPAnalysis: No recorded sales in this grade. A 2.5 sold for $258 in October 2021.

Did girls prefer Harvey horror comics to the competition? The ads suggest that this mag was aimed at a female demographic: the inside front cover features a full-page ad for ladies' fashion ("Fashion Flair. Style No. 4355—Our 'COAT-DRESS.' Everything you want to take you out elegantly and to the best places."), while the back cover has a full-page ad for ladies' girdles ("Here's the modern, up-to-the-minute sylph-trim figure that TUMMY-TRIM will give you... A dreamy figure of charm, grace and desire"). Meanwhile, in Howard Nostrand's story, a gorilla chokes a pretty blonde to death (Gorilla: "GROARRR!" Blonde: "YAAGHH!"). The act of choking is a key element of sadomasochistic sex play, and erotic fantasies of being ravished by apes is apparently a thing, if Google is to be believed. Was Black Cat Mystery the junior-grade "Fifty Shades of Grey" of its day, teasing curious gals with tales of bondage, subjugation, and interspecies humiliation?

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.