Beschreibung:

CRIME MYSTERIES No. 3 Author: Place: Publisher: Date: Description: Ribage Publishing Co. September, 1952. CGC certified: Good/VG (3.0). Off-white to white pages. 1 piece of tape on cover. Rocco Mastroserio art. Hanging panels. The cover is a swipe of H.J. Ward's cover to the June 1939 Spicy Mystery Stories pulp mag. Ward was a master of the "weird menace" genre of pulps, and he was responsible for some of the most lurid and sensational images ever to leer at browsers from Depression-era newsstands. He is perhaps best known to comic book fans for a well-known portrait of Superman that he painted to promote the 1940s "Adventures of Superman" radio show. His true significance to the world of comics, however, is as spiritual godfather to the pre-Code era. Had he lived, he might have jumped from pulps to comics, like Graham Ingels and others — unfortunately, Ward died in 1945, at the age of 35. This anonymous swipe is the extent of his pre-Code legacy. A limited edition of 100 softcover and 15 hardcover catalogues are available. Over 200 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com or visit: https://www.pbagalleries.com/content/comics/. R. Crumb says, "I found [PBA's catalogue] so interesting that I am saving it for the texts that accompany the comics which were put up for auction. This is some of the best commentary I’ve yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books. I especially enjoyed the reviews of the post-war horror comics. Great. Priceless." Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2021 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com. Lot Amendments Condition: Item number: 322836