BERKELEY, Calif. – PBA Galleries‘ Comic Books Sale, held on February 3, had an unprecedented 99% sale rate, with 188 lots exceeding the high estimate by more than a third.

Attracting great interest was a copy of Seven Seas Comics #4 with a CGC grade of 6.5. It has a classic cover featuring Matt Baker’s tropical beauty Alani the South Sea Girl fighting a great white shark. The copy in the sale achieved $18,750.

Another strong seller was a Crime Patrol #15 with a CGC grade of 4.0, which sold for $9,375. This edition contains the first Crypt Keeper story, making it highly significant in the annals of EC and pre-Code horror comics titles. In the same field, a Horrific #3 with a CGC grade of 6.0 brought a large amount of bids. It ultimately sold for $5,312.

Other horror comics highlights included a copy of Weird Mysteries #5 with a CGC grade of 2.5. Some consider this issue to have the goriest pre-Code cover, and the point is hard to dismiss: it features Bernard Baily’s artwork showing gloved hands removing a brain from an unfortunate individual. The image raised the stakes sky-high in what’s been called the “upward spiral of gruesomeness” of four-color fear. The example of Weird Mysteries #5 in the sale went for $6,875. A different lot that also performed admirably was a copy of Mister Mystery #11 with a CGC grade of 6.0, boasting one of the most stunning covers ever to appear on horror comics. It realized $5,937.

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