Month: April 2024

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NEW: Pre-Code Horror Comics Original Art Edition

precode-horror-comics-original art edition
Pre-code Horror Comics: Original Art Edition is now on sale.  This art book is new for 2024 and features 126 pages of pre-code comic book content rarely if ever seen in print.  12 original art comic book stories from artists like George Roussos, Eugene Hughes, Robert Webb, Bob Powell, Sid Check, and more.
Pre-Code Horror Comics Original Art Edition contains many original art comic book covers and their final full color published versions along with some preliminary black and white and color sketches that show the “step by step” creation of memorable pre-code horror cover art!  Golden age comics masters including Warren Kremer, Lee Elias, John Chilly, Bernard Baily, and L.B. Cole, to name a few.
Last but not least,  you will see a few rare, UNPUBLISHED pre-code horror comics covers in print together for the first time anywhere!  This is a large format book of original precode art stories, sketches, and covers edited by Mike T. Lyddon.  The first printing is limited to 100 signed and numbered copies.

Only $14.95 + Shipping!
Buy it now:  U.S. Customers   United Kingdom    Canada    Australia

Buy it on EBAY 

Satisfied Customers
“A truly beautiful book!! Lovingly put together and a bargain!!”
“The book is awesome and at a very fair price”
“Awesome book, thank you!”
“Great collection of stories and art.”

Some more examples from the book:
precode horror comics original art edition - death sentence story by sid check

 

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Chilling Tales 15 Pre-code Horror Comic Book from Youthful Comics 1953

Chilling Tales 15 Pre-code Horror Comic Book from Youthful Comics 1953.

Today we are looking at a facsimile of issue number 15 of Chilling Tales pre-code horror comic book From Youthful Comics originally published in April of 1953. One of the things that I love about this comic book is the great Matt Fox cover.
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Fantastic Pre-code Comics Artist Matt Fox

If you’re not familiar with Matt Fox, he started off doing really fantastic covers for Weird Tales pulp magazine and you can still find those. I see them occasionally on eBay and they’re not cheap but they are really quite spectacular. Some of my favorite Weird Tales covers are from Matt Fox and he ended up doing a few covers for Chilling Tales. This is one of them. I love his primitive art style. It’s iconic. You know Matt Fox right off the bat when you see his art, it’s something quite unique. Comic book ad: 333 all different exciting and unusual stamps only 25 cents, wow! The most famous stamp ever issued, the sensational Goya nude. I’ve never seen that one up close and personal, fantastic.

Chilling Tales 15 Contents

We begin with the Hounds of Hell by Harry Harrison. Yes, that is the same Harry Harrison the science fiction writer famous for the Stainless Steel Rat and Make Room, Make Room.  The latter was made into a film called Soylent Green starring Charlton Heston. This is the very same Harry Harrison doing the art and story for this the Hounds of Hell.
Next up we have a story called The Monster drawn by Harry Kiefer. Then, a two-page text story called The Phantom of the Opera. Here we have Curse of the Tomb with pencils by Joe Galoti and inks by Lang. A crude yet effective splash page. Last on the list is a story called Sacrifice by Vince Napoli.
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Chilling Tales 15 Matted Print Error

There you have it folks, Chilling Tales issue number 15 from April 1953. My favorite thing about this issue is the Fantastic Matt Fox cover. When I bought this facsimile, it also came with an oversized matted print of the cover from Bud plant. P.S art books has this combo deal where you buy the facsimile and you get an oversized matted print of the cover. The reproduction is absolutely spot on but there’s a little bit of a problem.  On the bottom of these matted prints that they have they typically give you the info such as “Chilling Tales number 15 with the publisher and the artist. Unfortunately, they have Star Publications listed as the publisher but it’s not Star Publications. Chilling Tales was published by Youthful Comics.

I contacted PS art books and I said “Hey guys, you’ve got a little screw up here with the credit to Star Publications when it should be Youthful. They got back to me and said that they would correct it and send me a new print with the correction. It’s been almost a year so I don’t doing a correction and it appears that they really give a damn. I hope you enjoyed this look at Chilling Tales number 15 from April 1953 and as always please like And subscribe.

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Pre-Code SCI-FI HORROR Comics by SPIDER-MAN Artist JOHN Romita

Pre-Code HORROR and SCI-FI Comics by Popular Marvel SPIDER-MAN Artist JOHN Romita

Pre-code horror comics by John Romita.  Romita was a very popular Spider-Man artist for Marvel Comics.  John Romita Senior, born January 1930, passed away at the age of 93 in June 2023, after many decades of acclaimed work in the comics industry.
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Romita is well known for his work for Marvel Comics in the 1960’s and 1970’s doing art for notable titles like The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, and Daredevil.
As an Atlas artist doing a  lot of pre-code horror comics for Stan Lee, Romita ended up drawing about 200 stories for Atlas between 1951 and 1957 in all genres including horror, sci-fi, crime, jungle comics, westerns, war, and romance.
Marvel’s Masterworks volumes featuring pre-code horror comics by John Romita on sale now.

John Romita Beginnings In the Comics Industry

A graduate of the Caniff School of Art, Romita began his career at Atlas Comics ghosting stories for artists Les Zakarin in 1951.   Working for Marvel in the early 1960s he started drawing Daredevil.  He then followed Steve ditko on The Amazing Spider-Man his most acclaimed comic book series.

Fortunately, Marvel has reprinted many of the Atlas Comics Series in multiple volumes. These books feature pre-code art by John Romita, Sid Shores, Joe Sinnott, Russ Heath and many more. See the link on this page. Years before the Marvel superhero boom, Romita lent his young talent to Atlas pre-code horror comics.  These titles include Menace, Marvel Tales, Astonishing, suspense, and Journey into Mystery.

Romita’s Atlas Pre-code Horror Comic Art

Today we’re looking at some of the Atlas horror comics titles that John Romita Drew starting in 1951 with Strange Tales number three, published October of 1951. Romita did pencils for the story The Man Who Never Was. Astonishing number seven, December of 1951, Romita did pencils and inks for “Out of my Mind.” Astonishing number 24, April of 1953, the story “Poor Wilbur,” doing both pencils and inks. In Marvel Tales number 108, August of 1952, a story called “The Guillotine.” Marvel Tales number 127, October of 1954, Romita drew a story titled “A thing of Evil.”

Menace, Mystic, and More

“Flying Saucer” was a story he rendered in Menace number six, 1953. Menace number eight October of 1953 called “The werewolf was Afraid.” In Menace number 11, 1954, he did the pencils and inks for a story called “The Robot.” Mystic number 25, December of 1953, a story titled “Vampire” with Romita supplying the pencils and inks. “Speed Carter, Spaceman” issue number one, September of 1953. He drew the story called “Venus Earth’s twin sister,” supplying the pencils and inks. In Spellbound number 13, March of 1953, Romita drew “The Dead Men.” Strange Tales number three, October of 1951 “The Man Who Never Was” pencils. Strange Tales number four December of 1951″IT,” supplying the pencils and inks.
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I hope you enjoyed this look into John Romita’s pre-code horror comics period of the 1950s please like And subscribe and thanks for watching.
Romita’s pre-code horror and sci-fi comics are available through Marvel’s Masterworks volumes on sale here