Author:
Title: WEIRD MYSTERIES No. 8
Place Published:
Publisher:Stanley Morse [Indicia: Gillmor Magazines, Inc.]
Date Published: January, 1954
Description: CGC certified: VG/Fine (5.0). Cream to off-white pages. Grader notes: Light chip out cover; light creasing to cover; light spine splits to cover; moderate cover tanning.

CGC Census: 35 graded copies (33 Universal, 2 Restored).

GPAnalysis: A 5.0 sold for $456 in 7/23.

Credits: Cover: Bernard Baily. Art: Sal Trapani, Sal Finocchiaro, Tony Mortellaro, Eugene Hughes? Overstreet: "Wolverton-c panel-r/#5; used in a '54 Readers Digest anti-comics article by T.E. Murphy entitled 'For the Kiddies to Read.'" Murphy's Law: Comics critic T. E. Murphy panned this mag in an article published in the June 1954 edition of Reader's Digest ("For the Kiddies to Read"). Murphy was appalled by Sal Trapani's "I Killed Mary," in which a geeky incel chops up a teen tart for scoffing at his advances.

"In another gem, entitled 'I Killed Mary'... an inferior boy named Bobbie [sic] meets a girl named Mary and walks home with her. They stop in a barn because it is raining. There she is shown reclining on the hay. He makes advances to her, but she laughs at the 'sissy.' Thereupon he picks up an axe, and is shown hacking her to death. There is a close-up of the girl's undraped leg as she lies murdered. Later the boy is shown hanging from the rafters of the barn, a suicide. That book was bought only a few yards away from a spot where a ten-year-old girl had been choked to death by a pervert just a few days previously."

Like Wertham, Murphy makes unproven statements connecting comics to crime. Unlike Wertham, Murphy doesn't categorically denounce comic books as a pernicious social blight. In fact, he advises parents not to tar all comics with the same brush, but to consider that some comics just aren't suitable for children: "Many comic books are good – some are educational, others downright funny... This is not a prudish campaign against cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians; such interests are normal interests of chilhood, whereas adultery, necrophilia and cannibalism are not."______________________________________________________________

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.