Pre-Code Horror

Comic Book covers produced prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by William Ekgren

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Cover art by William Ekgren

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Extreme violence cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Extreme violence cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Skull cover art by George Tuska

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Skull cover art by George Tuska

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Cover art by Matt Fox, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Matt Fox, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Pre-code horror Injury-to-Eye panel

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Pre-code horror Injury-to-Eye panel

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Decapitation cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Decapitation cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Final issue of Blue Bolt, retitled Ghostly Weird Stories continuing with issue #120

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Final issue of Blue Bolt, retitled Ghostly Weird Stories continuing with issue #120

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Cover art by L.B. Cole

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Cover art by L.B. Cole

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Cover art featuring The Old Witch

Interior biography of Ray Bradbury and story adaptation of 'The Black Ferris'

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Cover art featuring The Old Witch

Interior biography of Ray Bradbury and story adaptation of 'The Black Ferris'

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Cover art by Harry Anderson

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Cover art by Harry Anderson

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Formerly titled Marvel Mystery Comics

New format featuring horror and sci-fi tales

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Formerly titled Marvel Mystery Comics

New format featuring horror and sci-fi tales

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Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Matt Fox

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Matt Fox

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Classic pre-code horror story 'Caterpillar House'

Only two issues of Tormented were released before the Comics Code Authority placed major restrictions on the horror format

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Classic pre-code horror story 'Caterpillar House'

Only two issues of Tormented were released before the Comics Code Authority placed major restrictions on the horror format

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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1st appearance of Drusilla, female host of the anthology title

Hanging cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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1st appearance of Drusilla, female host of the anthology title

Hanging cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by George Evans, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by George Evans, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Wally Wood

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Cover art by Wally Wood

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Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a man pours the poison used to kill his wife down the drain and avoids being charged for murder

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Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a man pours the poison used to kill his wife down the drain and avoids being charged for murder

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Cover art by Don Heck, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Don Heck, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Iconic 'Injury to Eye' cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Iconic 'Injury to Eye' cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Morbid cover art by George Evans, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Morbid cover art by George Evans, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Damsel in distress cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), opening story

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Damsel in distress cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), opening story

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Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a man is severely beaten by the police while the real killer, a high-ranking cop, gets away with murder

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Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a man is severely beaten by the police while the real killer, a high-ranking cop, gets away with murder

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Cover art by Don Heck

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Don Heck

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Don Heck

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Don Heck

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Banned cover art that bleakly suggests humanity is nothing but a puppet show performed by ghoulish parental archetypes where the father is brainless and the mother is sadistic

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Banned cover art that bleakly suggests humanity is nothing but a puppet show performed by ghoulish parental archetypes where the father is brainless and the mother is sadistic

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art depicting graphic horror

One of nine comics banned by Congress

One of many examples during this era of an eye injury that adds value to a cover similar to: 'headlights' 'bondage' 'Nazis' and other recurring taboos

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Cover art depicting graphic horror

One of nine comics banned by Congress

One of many examples during this era of an eye injury that adds value to a cover similar to: 'headlights' 'bondage' 'Nazis' and other recurring taboos

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Demon cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Demon cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by L.B. Cole

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Cover art by L.B. Cole

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Cover art depicting bondage

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Cover art depicting bondage

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Bondage cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Bondage cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Iconic cover art by Wally Wood, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Iconic cover art by Wally Wood, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Ken Bald, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Ken Bald, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Alex Schomburg

Considered to be the most valuable non-superhero comic book

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Cover art by Alex Schomburg

Considered to be the most valuable non-superhero comic book

Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11

Charlton ⋅ 1953

View Details

Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11

Charlton ⋅ 1953

View Details

Low

$1.2k

Mid

$4k

High

$12k

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Pre-code horror cover referred to as the 'Tongue Bouquet' cover

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Pre-code horror cover referred to as the 'Tongue Bouquet' cover

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Cover art by Bernard Baily

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Cover art by Bernard Baily

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Cover art by Bernard Baily

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Cover art by Bernard Baily

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Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Bernard Baily

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Cover art by Bernard Baily

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Iconic cover art by L.B. Cole

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Iconic cover art by L.B. Cole

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Cover art by L.B. Cole

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Cover art by L.B. Cole

	Publisher	Low	Mid	High
Weird Horrors #7	St. John	$200	$800	$2k
Shocking Mystery Cases #51	Star	$2.8k	$960	$2.8k
Bulls-Eye Comics #11	Chesler Dynamic	$1k	$3k	$10k
Chilling Tales #17	Youthful	$230	$815	$2.3k
The Thing #16	Charlton	$35	$115	$350
Weird Mysteries #6	Stanley Morse	$650	$1.9k	$6.5k
Haunt of Fear #7	EC	$90	$315	$950
This Magazine Is Haunted #7	Fawcett	$125	$410	$1.2k
Blue Bolt #119	Funnies Inc.	$400	$1.2k	$4k
Thrilling Crime Cases #49	Star	$575	$1.5k	$5.8k
Haunt of Fear #18	EC	$140	$475	$1.4k
Strange Tales #28	Marvel	$900	$2.8k	$9.5k
Marvel Tales #93	Marvel	$300	$1k	$3k
Beware! Terror Tales #8	Fawcett	$215	$765	$2.2k
Chilling Tales #15	Youthful	$850	$4.5k	$11.9k
Tormented #1	Sterling	$650	$1.8k	$6.5k
Crime Suspenstories #21	EC	$90	$315	$925
Vault of Horror #37	EC	$120	$400	$1.2k
Baffling Mysteries #7	Ace	$385	$1.2k	$3.9k
Crime Suspenstories #23	EC	$255	$725	$2.2k
Eerie #3	Avon	$120	$400	$1.2k
Crime Suspenstories #19	EC	$160	$525	$1.6k
Weird Terror #3	Comic Media	$210	$815	$2.1k
Mister Mystery #12	Media Pub.	$2k	$8k	$22k
Crime Suspenstories #24	EC	$115	$440	$1.5k
Startling Terror Tales #10	Star	$180	$600	$1.8k
Shock Suspenstories #4	EC	$80	$250	$875
Horrific #5	Comic Media	$150	$500	$1.5k
Horrific #4	Comic Media	$420	$1.1k	$4.2k
Horrific #2	Comic Media	$350	$1.4k	$3.5k
Horrific #1	Comic Media	$625	$1.8k	$6.2k
Tomb of Terror #15	Harvey	$1.6k	$5.7k	$19k
Menace #9	Atlas	$200	$860	$2.8k
Startling Terror Tales #5	Star	$650	$1.9k	$6.5k
Blue Bolt #115	Funnies Inc.	$1k	$3k	$10k
Power Comics #3	Holyoke	$660	$1.9k	$6.8k
Ghost Comics #6	Fiction House	$400	$1.2k	$4k
Weird Mysteries #5	Stanley Morse	$2.3k	$9.4k	$23k
Tales From the Crypt #41	EC	$150	$500	$1.5k
Shock Suspenstories #6	EC	$460	$1.8k	$4.6k
Forbidden Worlds #24	ACG	$150	$500	$1.5k
Suspense Comics #3	Continental	$26k	$72k	$200k
Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11	Charlton	$1.2k	$4k	$12k
Weird Chills #1	Key	$400	$1.2k	$4k
Weird Chills #2	Key	$285	$880	$3.2k
Horrific #3	Comic Media	$830	$2.2k	$8.3k
Weird Chills #3	Key	$200	$800	$2k
Dynamic Comics #8	Chesler Dynamic	$6k	$180k	$60k
Suspense Comics #8	Continental	$1.2k	$4k	$12k
Suspense Comics #11	Continental	$1.2k	$4.2k	$12.5k

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Pre-Code Horror

Pre-Code Horror

Weird Horrors #7

St. John ⋅ 1953

Weird Horrors #7

St. John ⋅ 1953

Key Facts

Cover art by William Ekgren

Key Facts

Cover art by William Ekgren

Shocking Mystery Cases #51

Star ⋅ 1952

Shocking Mystery Cases #51

Star ⋅ 1952

Key Facts

Extreme violence cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Extreme violence cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Bulls-Eye Comics #11

Chesler Dynamic ⋅ 1944

Bulls-Eye Comics #11

Chesler Dynamic ⋅ 1944

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Skull cover art by George Tuska

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Skull cover art by George Tuska

Chilling Tales #17

Youthful ⋅ 1953

Chilling Tales #17

Youthful ⋅ 1953

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Cover art by Matt Fox, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Cover art by Matt Fox, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

The Thing #16

Charlton ⋅ 1954

The Thing #16

Charlton ⋅ 1954

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Pre-code horror Injury-to-Eye panel

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Pre-code horror Injury-to-Eye panel

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Weird Mysteries #6

Stanley Morse ⋅ 1953

Weird Mysteries #6

Stanley Morse ⋅ 1953

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Decapitation cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Decapitation cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Haunt of Fear #7

EC ⋅ 1951

Haunt of Fear #7

EC ⋅ 1951

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

This Magazine Is Haunted #7

Fawcett ⋅ 1952

This Magazine Is Haunted #7

Fawcett ⋅ 1952

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

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Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Blue Bolt #119

Funnies Inc. ⋅ 1953

Blue Bolt #119

Funnies Inc. ⋅ 1953

Key Facts

Final issue of Blue Bolt, retitled Ghostly Weird Stories continuing with issue #120

Key Facts

Final issue of Blue Bolt, retitled Ghostly Weird Stories continuing with issue #120

Thrilling Crime Cases #49

Star ⋅ 1952