DARK MYSTERIES #10 * CGC 3.0 * Slave Murders at Sea

Heading:
Author:
Title: DARK MYSTERIES No. 10
Place Published:
Publisher:Story, aka Master/Merit [Indicia: Master Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: December-January, 1953
Description:

CGC certified: G/VG (3.0). Cover: Hy Fleishman. Art: A.C. Hollingsworth, John D'Agostino, Hy Fleishman, Harry Harrison. Overstreet: "Cannibalism story; witch burning cover." GPAnalysis: A 3.0 sold for $1200 in April 2021.

"[Dark Mysteries] #10 contains 'Sea of Ghosts,' a tale whose theme has been swiped time and time again in the 1950s. I don't know if EC told it first, but they told it best.... Illegal slave traders are overtaken on the high seas by the authorities. Quickly they dispose of the evidence by casting their enchained living cargo into the ocean." — George Suarez, Tales To Terrible To Tell #5. NEC: 1992, p. 33.

The EC story Suarez references is "The Slave Ship" by Feldstein and Roussos (Weird Fantasy #8, July-August 1951). According to Qiana Whitted's EC Comics: Race, Shock and Social Protest, "Predating the Shock SuspenStories preachies is an often-overlooked story called 'The Slave Ship,' which marks EC's earliest experiment with race and social-protest comics through science fiction." The vengeful captives in the Dark Mysteries version of the story are Chinese rather than African. This change may have been made to avoid depicting blacks avenging themselves upon whites — an Eisenhower-era taboo not even EC dared to transgress.

A limited edition of 150 softcover and 15 hardcover catalogues is available. 400 lots, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcover $30, deluxe hardcover with dust jacket and limitation plate $200. Ten of the 15 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 December 2021 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.