FANTASTIC FEARS #3 * CGC 4.5 * Dancing Snakes w/ Human Heads

Author:
Title: FANTASTIC FEARS No. 3
Place Published:
Publisher:Ajax-Farrell [Indicia: Four Star Publications Inc.]
Date Published: September, 1953
Description: CGC certified: VG+ (4.5). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: Readers crease; spine stress lines breaks color; stain top of back cover; tear left bottom of front cover. Note: Minor marks to slab.

GPAnalysis: A 4.5 sold for $659 in 9/23.

Credits: Iger Shop and Frank Belknap Long.The Frolic of Bone-White Death: Death plays a merry tune on the cover, causing snakes with human heads to perform a polonaise of horror: "Writhe away, little pawns! I never tire of the Dance of Death when I play this enchanting dirge!" Inside you'll find ghosts, druids, a seaweed monster, suicide by stiletto, zombies, poisonings, devil dogs who crave human kibble, etc.

The first ish of Fantastic Fears also featured a danse macabre cover. Writer David J. Skal offers an explanation for this recurring motif: "The cataclysm of the plague in the Middle Ages had given momentum to the Dance of Death as a major cultural motif; the imagery of American horror comics in postwar America presented a strikingly similar popular aesthetic. Like the woodcuts of Hans Holbein the Younger, this new danse macabre took advantage of easily reproducible line art to disseminate images of rotting, revenant corpses who carry off the living." – Skal, The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. Norton: 1993, p. 230.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 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 funnybook fiends. "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.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.