CGC certified: Fine/VF (7.0). Cream to off-white pages. Mexican version of Chamber of Chills #23 (Harvey, 1953). Color interiors. Stories translated into Spanish. Cover: Lee Elias. Art: Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand, Manny Stallman, Jack Sparling. CGC Census: Only graded copy. GPAnalysis: No recorded sales. Ebay sales: According to International buff Joey Anuff, "A misidentified lower-grade copy of this comic sold for $2000 in June 2021." "Ecch-cellent cover close-up of a rotting corpse make'n out with a hot babe; necrophilia overtones ('I transferred Susanne's body into a specially built morgue... beautiful... desirable')." — EC, MAD and Pre-Code HORROR Comics of the 1950s. Green Apple: 1997, p. 2. One of the greatest covers of the pre-Code era, this Lee Elias masterpiece originated as the cover to the Yankee version of Chamber of Chills #23, published two years before the La Prensa edition. The cover is unsigned but bears the unmistakable stylistic hallmarks of Lee Elias. The compositional perfection suggests the hidden hand of Harvey's art director, design ace Warren Kremer. Asked about the possibility of Kremer's involvement in the creation of this cover, pre-Code savant Roger Hill told PBA's Director of Comics: "Yes, I'm 99% sure that Warren Kremer did a rough layout for Elias to follow." Elias's cover depicts a hideous heap of rotting flesh forcing itself on a terrified blonde, a perverse echo of the romance comics that flourished in the years before the horror craze. Inside, the reader finds a Spanish translation of Manny Stallman's "Heartline," in which a bereaved surgeon brings his sweetheart back to life for a necrotic-erotic reconciliation. A comingled air of the boudoir and the charnel house hangs over this tawdry mag, embodying Dr. Wertham's concern that comics encouraged morbid sexuality: "And amidst all the violence... are big pictures of lush girls, as nude as the Post Office permits.... The impression of sex plus violence is definite... [an] invitation to sadistic perversion." — Seduction of the Innocent, p. 32. A deluxe limited edition of 12 hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a small number of softcovers. 400 lots, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcover $40, deluxe hardcover with dust jacket and limitation plate $200. Eight of the 12 hardcovers are pre-ordered and the rest will go quickly, so reserve yours now. To order, contact [email protected] . Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2022 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 comics auctioneers. "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 [email protected] .
CGC certified: Fine/VF (7.0). Cream to off-white pages. Mexican version of Chamber of Chills #23 (Harvey, 1953). Color interiors. Stories translated into Spanish. Cover: Lee Elias. Art: Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand, Manny Stallman, Jack Sparling. CGC Census: Only graded copy. GPAnalysis: No recorded sales. Ebay sales: According to International buff Joey Anuff, "A misidentified lower-grade copy of this comic sold for $2000 in June 2021." "Ecch-cellent cover close-up of a rotting corpse make'n out with a hot babe; necrophilia overtones ('I transferred Susanne's body into a specially built morgue... beautiful... desirable')." — EC, MAD and Pre-Code HORROR Comics of the 1950s. Green Apple: 1997, p. 2. One of the greatest covers of the pre-Code era, this Lee Elias masterpiece originated as the cover to the Yankee version of Chamber of Chills #23, published two years before the La Prensa edition. The cover is unsigned but bears the unmistakable stylistic hallmarks of Lee Elias. The compositional perfection suggests the hidden hand of Harvey's art director, design ace Warren Kremer. Asked about the possibility of Kremer's involvement in the creation of this cover, pre-Code savant Roger Hill told PBA's Director of Comics: "Yes, I'm 99% sure that Warren Kremer did a rough layout for Elias to follow." Elias's cover depicts a hideous heap of rotting flesh forcing itself on a terrified blonde, a perverse echo of the romance comics that flourished in the years before the horror craze. Inside, the reader finds a Spanish translation of Manny Stallman's "Heartline," in which a bereaved surgeon brings his sweetheart back to life for a necrotic-erotic reconciliation. A comingled air of the boudoir and the charnel house hangs over this tawdry mag, embodying Dr. Wertham's concern that comics encouraged morbid sexuality: "And amidst all the violence... are big pictures of lush girls, as nude as the Post Office permits.... The impression of sex plus violence is definite... [an] invitation to sadistic perversion." — Seduction of the Innocent, p. 32. A deluxe limited edition of 12 hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a small number of softcovers. 400 lots, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcover $40, deluxe hardcover with dust jacket and limitation plate $200. Eight of the 12 hardcovers are pre-ordered and the rest will go quickly, so reserve yours now. To order, contact [email protected] . Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2022 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 comics auctioneers. "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 [email protected] .
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
