HAUNT OF FEAR #12 * 3.0 * Graham INGELS's "Poetic

Heading:
Author:
Title: HAUNT OF FEAR No. 12
Place Published:
Publisher:EC [Indicia: Fables Publishing Co., Inc.]
Date Published: March-April, 1952
Description:

Good/VG (3.0). Moderate spine stress, tiny nick at bottom spine, touch of staple rust, tiny chips to right edge of front cover, soiling to back cover. Tan to deep tan pages. If the page quality was better, would grade 4.0. Professionally cleaned and pressed by Comics In A Flash. Cover: Graham Ingels. Plots and scripts: Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein. Art: Graham Ingels, Johnny Craig, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis. Artist biography: Al Feldstein. GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A 2.5 sold for $171 in August 2020; a 3.5 sold for $138 in November 2020.

Ingel's cover is a masterpiece of gothic horror, with every detail calculated to reinforce an atmosphere of gloom and dread. There's an eerie moonlit beauty to the monuments and markers, but the human figures are hideous, reflecting the extremes of physical and moral decay. The closing story, Jack Davis's "What's Cookin'?," in which one man is broiled alive and another is deep-fried in human fat, is a bona fide pre-Code classic, "exemplifying Davis's—choke—Southern-fried style of horror." — EC, MAD and Pre-Code HORROR Comics of the 1950s. Green Apple: 1997, p. 17.

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.