Heading:
Author:
Title: DARK MYSTERIES No. 12
Place Published:
Publisher:Story, aka Master/Merit [Indicia: Master Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: June, 1953
Description:

G/VG (3.0). Spine stress, 1/2" split at top spine, 3/4" split at bottom spine, staples quite pulled, vertical center crease with less prominent creases alongside of it, dampsoiling to bottom edge of inside front cover, soiling to back cover, tiny color flakes to bottom spine and bottom right corner of front cover, 1.5" tear with tape repair to bottom corner of back cover. Cream to off-white pages. Would grade 3.5 if not for pulled staples. Cover: Hy Fleishman. Art: Hy Fleishman (2 stories), A.C. Hollingsworth. GPAnalysis: A 3.0 sold for $190 in July 2020.

Horror hounds will notice that Dark Mysteries shifts into a gruesome new gear at about this point in the title's run. It's probably due to the economics of the comics biz in mid-1953, when a huge glut of horror titles compelled publishers to pull out all the stops in order to compete at the nation's newsstands. Story's solution to the competitive pressures of the marketplace was to ramp up its imitation of EC, a move that propelled Story from a third-rate schlock outfit to a second-tier horror hustler.

"There's no doubt that what makes a lot of these stories so good is their blatant imitation of EC, the best line of horror comics in the world. But the world possesses only 87 EC horror comics containing some 350 stories. Once you've read these to death (and Lord knows that's easy enough to do with all the cheap reprints out there!), these Story stories will go far towards satisfying your appetite for more. Not exactly the same thing... but damn close!" — George Suarez, Tales To Terrible To Tell #5. NEC: 1992, p. 33.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2022 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art, vintage comic-related photos and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

A limited edition of 100 softcover and 6 hardcover catalogues are available. 140 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2022 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art, vintage comic-related photos and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.