fifties

"Th e Dead Don't Sleep" is a pretty good story.

It's too bad that '54 was cut short in PCH output, or I think it could have surpassed '53.

One of the favorite ACG's in my hoard.

Although there were a few horror titles and cover illustrations in the post war period (Adventures into the Unknown, Eerie), I would suggest that PCH really started in 1950, with EC's three horror books. From that year until the end of '54 was the PCH period. I'm good with all those years. Here's my copy of a mid 1950 Vault.

ACG did five "horror" titles; Adventures Into The Unknown. Forbidden Worlds, Out Of The Night, Skeleton Hand, and one issue of The Clutching Hand. This last one cost me a pretty penny, as it's not common. It came out in mid '54, when things were down on horror. Notice they didn't include their logo on the cover.

I jailbreak every slabbed book I get, as I too buy them to read.

ACG's, at least in the horror genre, get little respect. The covers can't match many of the other publishers fare at the time; Atlas, EC, Charlton, etc. Their four stories usually only included one W/O a happy ending.

As I had posted previously, I consider GA to be the period 1938-1955, and SA to be 1956 and up (IDK when the next age began). If you look at two giants on the net, Heritage and eBay, both refer to the same time period for Golden Age. I think that pretty well standardizes it, in broad terms.

Exactly! You're either buying as a collector, to keep and read, or as an investor, to flip. If the latter, research sold sales on eBay for the same or similar grades.

I'm afraid that you're both somewhat wrong. If you look at my post showing some of my 3D fare, you will see that St. John put out "3D Comics", with both a one and a two issue. There was no "Tor" title; the name was simply referenced under the masthead. Adamstrange is correct in that there were two sizes of the first. The one I bought off the news stand is larger.

Negative, it has entirely different stories, and titled the same as number 1. There were not two number 1's and no number 2.

I'm afraid that you have it wrong. Certain American titles gave license to Canadian publishers to print their fare in Canada, exactly as the U.S. edition. About the only restriction was that the term, "Crime", could not be used in the title. Atlas and EC were two of them.

I would agree on your description of the Atomic Age start and end dates, although I've always considered my post war and early '50's crime and horror books as GA. I feel however that I have to clarify the beginning of the Silver Age, at least from my own perspective. I bought a copy of Showcase #4 (October, 1956 cover date) off the news stand in the autumn of 1956 (read it, and gave it to my little brother as it was ho-hum for me). My understanding is that that issue was the first Silver Age book, and it was a good year before the USSR launched Sputnik 1, in October of 1957. AFA comic books dated from March or April of 1955 to September of 1956, certainly not GA, but I wouldn't know how to classify them, maybe pre Silver Age?

Congrats on getting such a pristine copy! I actually bought this issue at the news stand in the fall of '53, for a silver quarter, and still have it. I too like 3D comic books. Here's a few of mine;

Assuming your term of cartoon comics equates to funny animal books, yes, they have always been on a different tier. They were strictly aimed at children, with the stories and background art very simple. Except for Carl Barks Disney work, the illustrations were nothing to write home about. When the Comics Code came into effect, Dell comics would not subscribe to it, nor did they really have to. You won't find the CCA label on any of their, or Gold Key publications. Funny thing is, there is more violent activity in an average Tom and Jerry movie cartoon than in any of the pre code crime and horror books.

I've previously posted that I buy mainly pre-code comic books to read and enjoy, and not for any commercial gain. The only time I might let one go is if I upgrade. That said, the books will be with me until the time they carry me out, tits and toes up. Although I have a few books obtained in the '50's, I didn't casually start collecting until the '70's, and then with the advent of the internet and eBay, earnestly in the later '90's, for another 10 years or so, then once in awhile to the present time. The prices I paid for reader copies, mostly VG, were largely in the lower double digits. I'll put a small sticker on the backside of the Mylar sleeve for each book, having the grade and cost notated. With the general post pandemic inflation and astounding rise in many pre-code book values, I thought it might be wise to copy auction results displaying what some of the more sought after book values are now at, and put them behind the backing board, inside the sleeve. Of course I will be showing my kids some of them, so if they sell, they'll be aware that what I paid may be vastly different than what the current market supports. Just last year I paid $528 for an EC Tales of Terror annual in VG, and the current auction displays a similar one selling for $1920. a Witches Tales I bought for $38 now going for $4320, and a Witchcraft that set me back $80 now fetching $1560, one grade less. Some years ago a Mister Mystery 12 sold on The Bay for $3530 in G condition. I had bought that issue in 1973 for $2, same condition.

I remember reading a story similar to that, and it could be the same one. I believe it was in an Atlas horror title, if that helps to narrow it down.

I'm not here to get into a war with anybody; just expressing my viewpoint. Nothing says that you or anyone else has to agree with it. And don't presume to tell me what to do.

Come on in, the water's fine!

Not in either my view or what seems to be generally accepted by many. AFAIAC the Golden Age ended in 1955. Your definition is apparently different.

Not too sure about that, if you go by Overstreet's definition of GA years. After the inflation of 1951, a number of publishers put out narrower books, including Harvey, Ajax-Farrell, CDC, Minoan, Fawcett and others that easily fit into Silver Age bags, as they were all 7" or less in width.

Indeed EC's

EC's, eh?

Cross posting from the EC thread. Just got this little beauty in today, a 6.5 now sans the slab. I only need HOF 17 (3) to complete the run. If anybody has one available to sell, any condition, please contact me.