*Horror 1940-1959: The Bute Collection delivers more thrills and chills this week. Harvey’s Black Cat started out in 1946 as a super-heroine comic, before later becoming Black Cat Western, then Black Cat Mystery, ending its life in the early 60s with Giant reprints of the original titular character. Here we are concerned with the pre-code horror phase, with two well-executed horror anthologies with lurid covers. This series featured some of the most infamous covers of the genre and the content was full of gore, graphic violence and supernatural themes. (Sidebar: We share our home with three black cats (among others), so are well acquainted with black cat mysteries such as ‘Who was sick on the carpet?’, ‘Who brought in that mouse?’, ‘Who scoffed all the nobbles?’ etc, but I guess that’s a whole different show…)
PICTURED: BLACK CAT MYSTERY BOTH SOLD
#37 PR £35 Pre-Code. Classic Warren Kremer cover: six ghouls crawl and rise up out of their graves as a sleep walking blonde stumbles through their graveyard. Interior art by Kramer, Perlin, Certa and Palais. Cover sadly faded, covers detached and separated. Small chips out at cover edges; pages are okay.
#44 VG- £600 Pre-Code. Classic cover by Lee Elias: a madman laughs at the conflagration that engulfs him. Interior art by Powell, Sparling, Certa and Nostrand. Calendar for 1953 bound-in. Solid copy with rich, lurid colour cover scene, unmarked. Staples firm at spine and centrefold. Some corner blunting and wear at edges and spine only; page quality is an excellent, supple off-white to cream. Minor colour bleed through to inside front cover. High resolution images are available on request.