Martin L. Pahls. May, 1959. Indicia incorrectly states "Number 3." Staplebound mimeographed fanzine. 26 pp. including covers. Good (2.0). Looks 5.5, but lacks the front cover, possibly as issued (Mike Britt, who printed the cover for Pahls, says: "I printed some of the ditto pages for Marty including the cover. It is entirely possible that this is the way that Marty sent this issue out as he might have run out of cover copies. I don't remember exactly how many copies of each page that I did, but I do remember having strict orders that I should not purchase a second ream of ditto copy paper. That paper ran about two dollars a ream back then and two dollars was a lot of money for a teenage college freshman." Staple holes to corners (fanzine was mailed sans envelope, with corners stapled to keep it closed in transit). Edges toned, bottom corner of front cover dog-eared. Back cover hand-addressed by Pahls to recipient (James B. Clifford).

Final ish of Marty Pahl's early EC 'zine. Steve Stiles cover illustration (contrary to Lambiek.com's claim that Stiles' first published work was in Gothic Blimp Works, 1968). Includes a badly-reproduced R. Crumb vignette on the inside front cover, illustrating a feature called "The Den of Iniquity," a title inspired by a gag in the self-referential EC classic "Kamen's Kalamity" (Tales from the Crypt #31). Grant Geissman says of these early EC fanzines, "EC's comics inspired some very rabid fans, which they called 'EC Fan-Addicts.' Some of the more enterprising young fans published fanzines about their obsession... Fanzines of the period were somewhat crudely reproduced by hectograph, ditto, or mimeograph, and they generally had print runs of between about 25 and about 75 copies, making them extremely rare today." – The History of EC Comics.

A limited edition of 100 softcover and 15 hardcover catalogues are available. Over 200 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com or call 415-989-2665

R. Crumb says, "I found [PBA's catalogue] so interesting that I am saving it for the texts that accompany the comics which were put up for auction. This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books. I especially enjoyed the reviews of the post-war horror comics. Great. Priceless."

Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2021 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com or call 415-989-2665