Pre Code Horror

[IngelsFan]

Since the Golden Age forum has a topic specifically for pre-code horror, why not have one here. Let's see some cool GA PCH original art. I'll kick this off with a recent pick up from Mister Mystery #14:

 

 

Here's a detail of the final panel:

 

[Terry Doyle]

Nice, who's the artist?

[AKA Rick]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

[DeadpoolJr.]

Nice, who's the artist?

Tom Feelings if Comics.org list the stories in order. http://www.comics.org/issue/10867/

[IngelsFan]

That is correct, it is Tom Feelings. He only did 3 comics stories in the pre-code era: this one and two for romance titles. He later did illustrations for children's books.

[IngelsFan]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

 

This is Jack Davis from Vault of Horror #26:

 

[chromium]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

 

This is Jack Davis from Vault of Horror #26:

 

 

Fab page

 

I'm lucky enough to own the last page to this story,

 

 

This last page has an extra added bonus, as the last climactic panel (pre-host panel) was drawn TWICE as the editor wanted the flattened bodies to be seen up closer, so Jack Davis redrew the bottom left panel. And by sheer luck, it's always been included with the page, so I own it as well.

It's not a stat but an extra panel that lays over the other drawn panel.

[KirbyJack]

Those are killers! Gotta love a splash page that brings the goods like that!

[Terry Doyle]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

 

I've got some 1940s EC covers and two complete books of art in my CAF.

[Garry Ghoul]

Love your Mister Mystery page! The last panel is priceless

 

Here's a Jack Davis page from Vault of Horor #32...

 

 

[ciorac]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

 

[suspense39]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

 

 

I love this page, I almost bought it from Saul some years ago, I waited a little too long and it was gone I thought if it ever shows up again I'm getting it, then it showed up on clink just after I made another purchase.......congratulations for getting this, it's great.

[IngelsFan]

E.C. Pages from the 1940's to 1950's would be awesome to see.

 

 

Great page-the look of terror on the face of the dead guy in the second panel is incredible.

[IngelsFan]

 

Here is one of my favorites by Lee Elias:

 

 

 

 

 

[Terry Doyle]

Unpublished pre-code ACG cover by Ken Bald. Issue range, for which this cover was intended, would have been #s 28 - 33 (1952).

 

[Terry Doyle]

Crime Patrol # 13 (late 1940s, EC) by Johnny Craig. Although not originally intended as a Horror comic, the title moved towards that genre towards the end of its run and would eventually be re-titled Crypt of Terror for several issues and then Tales From the Crypt.

 

[LostDreams]

I enjoy collecting pre-code horror comics...some of the coolest covers ever were done in the mid-50s by non-EC publishers (e.g. Kremer covers like Black Cat 50, Witches Tales 25, Tomb of Terror 15...Baily covers like Weird Mysteries 4, 5, 6 Weird Chills 1,2 Weird Tales of the Future 7,8...Wolverton covers like Weird Tales of the Future 2,3,5...Ditko covers like Thing 12,13,15 This Mag is Haunted 16...incredible and fascinating stuff...don't forget Atlas with all those cool Heath, Everett, Maneely, Anderson covers

 

And there's the great pre-code stories by all the above...personally I really enjoy reading the stores from the Ajax and Superior titles like Voodoo, Fantastic Fears, Journey into Fear etc...

 

Don't see a lot of the pre-code horror art though...the Harvey stuff is out there (have seen Powell, Palais, Nostrand, etc.) and Iger Studio stuff too (have seen some Superior and Ajax art which had a lot of Iger shop stuff in them)...but Atlas is few and far between as is the Gillmore and Charlton titles (by Baily, Ditko, Wolverton)...

[IngelsFan]

Don't see a lot of the pre-code horror art though...the Harvey stuff is out there (have seen Powell, Palais, Nostrand, etc.) and Iger Studio stuff too (have seen some Superior and Ajax art which had a lot of Iger shop stuff in them)...but Atlas is few and far between as is the Gillmore and Charlton titles (by Baily, Ditko, Wolverton)...

 

I agree. The only Atlas PCH covers that I know about are all by Russ Heath, and I've always wondered if that is because he saved them himself. YM covers for Beware/Chilling are out there, and there are quite a few by Ace. I haven't seen any Story Pubs artwork, ever (I'd love to find Fraccio or Fleishman cover!).

 

I've also wondered if Baily's art from Weird Mysteries, etc was destroyed when they reworked it for the 70s reprints when they gored up the original stories. The only one I've seen is the cover to WM 4 that sold a couple of years ago at Heritage.

[LostDreams]

The Fleishman cover to Dark Mysteries 10 would look real cool, but never seen or heard of a Story cover existing.

 

There's one Matt Fox pre-code horror cover that's out there...Chilling Tales 15. And besides Weird Mysteries 4, the Weird Tales of the Future 7 cover supposedly exists...

[IngelsFan]

The Fleishman cover to Dark Mysteries 10 would look real cool, but never seen or heard of a Story cover existing.

 

There's one Matt Fox pre-code horror cover that's out there...Chilling Tales 15. And besides Weird Mysteries 4, the Weird Tales of the Future 7 cover supposedly exists...

 

I've seen Chilling Tales 15 & 16 (no idea who the credit for that art goes to tho) and Beware 10, which were all sold as a package deal in 1996. Weird Tales of the Future 7 would be great to see-that's an intensely weird cover. I wish the "grail" Harveys would turn up as well, as I'd love to get my grubby paws on Chamber of Chills 23!

 

If I'm naming a Story favorite, it's Mysterious Adventures 6; the ones around it were so tame, that huge image of the skeleton really stands out among the early issues.