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Author:
Title: FIGHT AGAINST CRIME [HORROR and TERROR] No. 21
Place Published:
Publisher:Story [Indicia: Story Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: September, 1954
Description:

Good- (1.8). Spine roll, small chips to spine ends, several transverse tears to spine affecting cover and pages, some nicks, tears, creases and abrasions to covers, ¾x1½" piece missing from top left corner of back cover, penciled distributor's mark ("45") to "C" in "CRIME," fully intact with no missing pages, 36 pp. including covers. Cream pages with lightly tanned edges. No cover, story or art credits available, but the lead story appears to be by Doug Wildey. GPAnalysis: A 2.5 sold for $175 in November 2019, and an incomplete .5 with two center wraps missing sold for $69 in March 2021.

Last ish of Fight Against Crime, before the title was changed to Fight Against the Guilty for two tepid Code-approved issues. In typical Story fashion, the stories are heavily derivative of EC, with plenty of adultery, spousal murder, snap endings, and Leroy lettering. Every single story in this ish features twisted love triangles ending in death and disaster. In the early '50s, the American divorce rate was less than 2.5 divorces per 1000 people, which helps explain the dark appeal of these tales of henpecked hubbys and unsatisfied housewives desperate for a way out. Within a few months of this mag's release, the Comics Code would kibosh stories of unhappy marriages, with seven separate bylaws pertaining to depictions of marriage and sex ("Illicit sex relations are neither to be hinted at nor portrayed," etc.).

"Fight Against Crime began as a 'pure' crime comic [before becoming] a crime comic with horror overtones and the occasional 'pure' horror story.... Story's style (particularly from 1953-on) tends to be based more on contemporary themes: horror often emerges from scenes of daily life, from the interaction of ordinary people. This style lends itself to the blending of horror and crime themes since criminal activity is very often quite horrific." — George Suarez, Tales To Terrible To Tell #5. NEC: 1992, p. 26.

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.