*Horror 1940-1959: L B Cole was one of the most famous of Golden/Atomic Age cover artists. He drew in a variety of genres, and was artistic director at Star, illustrating 95% of the company’s covers; his lurid, feverish style, almost hallucinogenic, graced horror, science-fiction, jungle and romance alike. Star took over the venerable title Blue Bolt in 1949 (previously it had been a classic anthology title starring the titular character, with much work by Simon & Kirby, Everett etc, lasting throughout the war years and beyond). By the time we got to the #114, Blue Bolt himself was long gone and the emphasis of the series had changed to horror, according to the zeitgeist of the time. Indeed, the title was rebranded as Ghostly Weird Stories from #120 onwards. Contents include three stylish horror shorts by Jay Disbrow plus three reprints of Fox horror tales including ‘The Mummy’. But it’s the wonderful L B Cole cover for which this issue is prized, showing a zombie-like denizen underwater in the swamp. A reasonable copy with a little spine white, front cover off top staple with the upper spine partially split for top 5 cm. Gruesome cover scene unimpaired (small arrival date stamped on ‘R’ in logo), with just tiny creasing to bottom right cover corner. Edge wear is minimal and page quality a decent off-white to cream. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: BLUE BOLT WEIRD TALES #114 GD/VG £650 SOLD