Author:
Title: SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES No. 9
Place Published:
Publisher:EC [Indicia: Tiny Tot Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: June-July, 1953
Description: CGC certified: VG (4.0). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: Staple rusted bottom staple; large, light stain right center of whole book; moderate creasing to cover; small tear with crease right center of front cover breaks color. Note: Some scratches and other minor marks to slab.

GPAnalysis: A 4.0 sold for $410 in 1/24.

Credits: Cover: Al Feldstein. Scripts: Ray Bradbury, Bill Gaines, and Al Feldstein. Art: Jack Kamen, Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall.Carrion Death: Feldstein's gory cover illustrates Reed Crandall's "Carrion Death!," in which a killer, cuffed to his victim's corpse and marooned in the desert, coaxes buzzards to skeletonize the corpse only to find that he's on the menu as well. In Feldstein and Wood's "Came the Dawn," casual sex is punished by bloody death. There's a streak of sexual Puritanism in pre-Code horror mags – violence is accepted as a matter of course, but sex outside of marriage almost always ends in disaster. EC scholar Bill Mason calls the story a "beautifully drawn [exploration of] the outer limits of sexual morality as understood by many American men in the 1950s."______________________________________________________________

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.