Shock Suspenstories 6 or Chamber of Chills 19? Which one and why? 0

[TheDarkestKnight]

Intentionally leaving this topic pretty vague and open to interpretation.  Which one do you prefer and why?

[szav]

CoC 19, no contest.  It’s such a creative cover, elegant and gruesome, without relying on being grotesque or shocking to grab your attention.  A real work of art and one of my top 5 favorite pch covers.  SS 6 is cool but doesn’t pull me in and give me the oh my god I gotta get that feeling CoC 19 does.

[entalmighty1]

I didn't check the census, but it seems like the Shock is way more plentiful/available than the Chamber of Chills 19, if that plays into your decision at all.

[Mr. Lady Luck]

CoC 19... because gentlemen prefer blondes.

[Robot Man]

Me, I swing the other way. SS#6 hands down. The mood of the cover, the way the poor girl is drawn, the lighting and the impending situation is much more dramatic. Besides, Wally Wood trumps Lee Elias any day of the week. Sorry, I don't have a photo of COC #19 handy for comparison. Somebody needs to post one. And actually, I don't really see any connection between the two covers

Edited March 20, 2018 by Robot Man

[PopKulture]

Shock all the way for me. CoC is hot now, but EC's are on another level. Ironically, it seems they almost get taken for granted now because they've been revered for a half century or more. 

[ThothAmon]

I own a couple SS6, one about an 8.5. That said as a collector with an eye towards value CoC is a much smarter purchase from my perspective. Bill Gaines was a genius but he ruined the collectors market for most non-pedigree EC’s with all those disgustingly beautiful Gaines Pedigree copies.  (7 9.0 or better CoC 19 versus 26 9.0 or better SS 6)

[october]

6 minutes ago, ThothAmon said:

26 9.0 or better SS 6

WOW. That's far more copies than expected. 

I own pretty nice copies of both (a File Copy of the CoC and the River City SSS), but the CoC is definitely my favorite of the two....though SSS is an undeniable classic as well. 

[Ken Aldred]

Shock SuspenStories 6.

Both well-executed covers, but the stories and artwork inside the EC book are far, far superior.

I wouldn't just buy for the cover.

[Junkdrawer]

I’ll pick the iconic cover that spans past the realm of the comic book community 

[BuscemasAvengers]

27 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

Shock SuspenStories 6.

Both well-executed covers, but the stories and artwork inside the EC book are far, far superior.

I wouldn't just buy for the cover.

Glad someone went beyond those beautiful covers and made a note about the interior artwork AND the stories; not having read either, can you identify why the stories inside SSS 6 are superior to those inside COC 19?

[Robot Man]

Are we talking which is "worth more" or could be in the future or which one we like and why. If they were both a dime on the newstand and you could only buy one, which one would you buy?

I'm with SS6 but COC19 is also a great classic cover too. It is currently very hot due to the hype and the Misfits connection. The SS6 has much better art and stories inside as a whole. (I own both and have read both). 

I still don't see the point of the comparison. They are both completely different books.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Robot Man

[porcupine48]

3 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Me, I swing the other way. SS#6 hands down. The mood of the cover, the way the poor girl is drawn, the lighting and the impending situation is much more dramatic. Besides, Wally Wood trumps Lee Elias any day of the week. Sorry, I don't have a photo of COC #19 handy for comparison. Somebody needs to post one. And actually, I don't really see any connection between the two covers

[Ken Aldred]

58 minutes ago, BuscemasAvengers said:

Glad someone went beyond those beautiful covers and made a note about the interior artwork AND the stories; not having read either, can you identify why the stories inside SSS 6 are superior to those inside COC 19?

Never really impressed with the stories in Harvey horror comics, compared to EC’s books.  Howard Nostrand was a fairly decent copyist of EC artist Jack Davis’ style, but the rest of COC 19’s content is quite mediocre.

The artwork in SSS 6 is vastly superior throughout; Wally Wood, Jack Kamen, Joe Orlando and Graham Ingels.  Also, Gaines and Feldstein’s stories are consistently well-written, if sometimes preachy.  Top quality pre-Code. 

 

Edited March 20, 2018 by Ken Aldred

[BuscemasAvengers]

6 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

Never really impressed with the stories in Harvey horror comics, compared to EC’s books.  Howard Nostrand was a fairly decent copyist of EC artist Jack Davis’ style, but the rest of COC 19’s content is quite mediocre.

The artwork in SSS 6 is vastly superior throughout; Wally Wood, Jack Kamen, Joe Orlando and Graham Ingels.  Also, Gaines and Feldstein’s stories are consistently well-written, if sometimes preachy.  Top quality pre-Code.  Simply on a different level.

 

Amen

[Ken Aldred]

8 minutes ago, BuscemasAvengers said:

Amen

Yup.  I’m a terribly-biased, lifelong EC fan.

Possibly, it shows.  

Edited March 20, 2018 by Ken Aldred

[october]

The stories in ECs are always top notch, but they have been reprinted so many times and in so many different formats that I don't factor it in much when buying the actual issues. 

...which doesn't make much sense, as I like reading the originals best. 

[TheDarkestKnight]

To preface, I'm newer to the PCH genre, and I'm finding that I'm having a hard time reeling in my focus with so many options peaking my interest from which to choose.  I have both books on my radar and was seeing if there was a consensus from other collectors on their preference.  I will eventually own both but just looking for opinions to help guide my decision on which one I should seek out first.  I appreciate everyone's input thus far. 

[Robot Man]

24 minutes ago, october said:

The stories in ECs are always top notch, but they have been reprinted so many times and in so many different formats that I don't factor it in much when buying the actual issues. 

...which doesn't make much sense, as I like reading the originals best. 

There's a reason they have been reprinted so many times... 

 

[jhutton2]

I love both books and own an 8.0 CGC SSS #6, never owned a CofC #19.   I agree with an earlier posters comments that all the beautiful Gaines File Pedigree books have kind of diminished the value of non Gaines books.     I no longer own any Gaines file books, but had the pleasure of owning about half a dozen of them over the years, many of which I purchased early in my collecting days as an adult because I loved EC's so much.    I should have put those 1.5K to 2.5K purchases in to some low grade blue chip Superhero books back in the day and I would have been way further ahead financially in my collecting.   Even if I had purchased some high grade PCH books other than EC's.   I still love the EC's but the relative rise in the comic market has far outpaced the Gaines EC books over the last 10 years it seems.

I would probably pick the CofC #19 because I have always loved that book and have not owned it yet.