HAUNTED THRILLS 9 * CGC 4.0 * Cauldron of Horror

Heading:
Author:
Title: HAUNTED THRILLS No. 9
Place Published:
Publisher:Ajax-Farrell [Indicia: Farrell Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: May, 1953
Description:

CGC certified: VG (4.0). Off-white to white pages. Cover, scripts and art: Iger Studio. Ruth Roche, editor. Severed heads cover. GPAnalysis: A 4.0 sold for $790 in February 2021. A 3.5 sold for $493 in July 2020.

Ruth Roche was the driving talent behind the late-era Iger Studio. She was Jerry Iger's business partner, and, it's said, his lover. She edited the stories that the Iger shop provided to Superior, Ajax-Farrel and Comic Media, and it's likely that she scripted many of the them. She was, in a sense, the Al Feldstein of the Iger/Superior/Ajax axis.

"Roche dealt in truly creepy, unsettling concepts, and she created narratives with an eerie, nightmare atmosphere.... The innocent died with the guilty in her stories, and sometimes the particular personification of evil would still be at large at the story's end.... The art in these stories is not always elegant, but it's a full partner in their success, and only after reading the stories is this apparent." — John Benson, "Ruth Roche and the Iger Studio," Four Color Fear. Fantagraphics: 2011, p. 299.

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.