Author:
Title: BLACK CAT MYSTERY No. 49
Place Published:
Publisher:Harvey [Indicia: Home Comics Inc.]
Date Published: April, 1954
Description: CGC certified: VG+ (4.5). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: Moisture damage front cover; readers crease front cover; light spine splits to cover; light staple rust; moderate creasing to cover.

CGC Census: 37 graded copies (35 Universal, 2 Restored).

GPAnalysis: A 4.5 sold for $611 in 8/23.

Credits: Cover: Lee Elias. Scripts: Howard Nostrand (?) and Bob Powell. Art: John Giunta, Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell. Acid Test of Terror: A man is frustrated by his neat-freak wife's out-of-control OCD. Perhaps anticipating the modern trend of treating OCD with microdoses of LSD, the forward-thinking fellow solves the problem with a macrodose of acid... hydrochloric acid.

"His wife's obsession with cleanliness plagues Abner Williams in Black Cat Mystery #49. Missus Williams spends so much time in the bathroom that Alvin [sic] has to resort to extreme measures to convince her that she's... Clean as a Whistle! What's also interesting about this issue is that while this tale is promoted on the cover ('They found HIM as clean as a whistle'), the cover scene has absolutely nothing to do with it: in fact, the Elias artwork evokes Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum... Harvey appears to have followed the standard practice of the time of farming the covers out to different artists who, working with only a story title, did their best to produce a scene which 'grabbed' the reader as well as having some resemblance to the related story. Missed the boat on this one..." – George Suarez, Tales Too Terrible To Tell #8. NEC: 1993, p. 32.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 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 funnybook fiends. "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.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.