Heading:
Author:
Title: PLANET COMICS No. 72
Place Published:
Publisher:Fiction House [Indicia: Love Romances Publishing Co., Inc.]
Date Published: Fall, 1953
Description:

CGC certified: VF- (7.5). Off-white pages. Cover: Maurice Whitman. Art: Bill Benulis, Jack Abel, John Belcastro, Vic Carrabotta, Bill Discount. GPAnalysis: A 7.5 copy sold for $2280 in April 2020.

Points of Interest: Maurice Whitman hides our heroine's nipples in plain sight on this mag's cover. Note how the concentric bands at the tips of the metal space-bra are shaded to suggest, without actually depicting, areolae. Fiction House artists were masters of tease, adept at pushing the boundaries of acceptability without crossing the line.

"Some of the ordinary comic books have illustrations revealing crude sexual details if you look at them in a certain way.... There are pictures within pictures for children who know how to look." — Dr. Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent. Rinehart: 1954, p. 185 and illustration 16. Interestingly enough, the panel that Dr. Wertham describes in this passage was also drawn by Maurice Whitman.

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.