CGC certified: Pedigree Grade: NM- (9.2). Cream to off-white pages. Lee Elias cover. Stories and art by Howard Nostrand, Jack Sparling, Joe Certa, John Giunta, and Manny Stallman. Northford collection. Additional provenance: Metropolis Comics label to back of CGC holder. The Northford collection, found in a chest of drawers sold to an antique dealer in the early '70s, contained the most complete run of pre-Code horror comics of all pedigreed collections. Northford mags can be identified by a small "circle-X" stamp on back covers.
Disfigured man tries, fails to rejoin society. Decides to jump off bridge, kill self. Sees a girl doing likewise, saves her. They become lovers. But now he must show her his unbandaged face... The story ends with no murder, no ironic twist. He shows her his face and it's a mess: "Satisfied??" The final panels, while by no means gruesome, pack a wallop. Bondage & torture cover (man broken on wheel by rotting corpse).
CGC census: Five 9.2 copies (two graded higher at 9.4). Top 6 copy. Comparable CGC sales: Two 9.2 sales, the most recent being in Sept. 2015 ($442). More recently, an 8.0 copy sold for $718 (Sept. 2019).
Consignments Accepted for PBA's Next Comic Book Auction. Golden Age, Silver Age, Pre-Code, Original Art, Interesting Ephemera Sought. Contact [email protected] for details.
March 26th Comic Book Sale catalogues available. Supplies Limited. Softcover catalogues limited to 200 copies ($45 + $5 postage/handling). Hardcovers limited to 26 lettered copies, dust jackets, special limitation plates ($150). Contact
[email protected].