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Author:
Title: DARK MYSTERIES No. 6
Place Published:
Publisher:Story, aka Master/Merit [Indicia: Master Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: April, 1952
Description:

Fine- (5.5). Light spine stress, world's tiniest chip to bottom right corner of front cover (under 1mm), tiny chip to bottom spine at back cover (about 2mm x 3mm), small chip to back cover near bottom staple (about 3mm x 7mm), slight bend to back cover along spine. Clean, flat, attractive mag. Printed in Canada according to indicia (the entire print runs of the first seven issues of Dark Mysteries were printed in Canada). Cream to off-white pages. Cover: Bill Fraccio. Art: Doug Wildey, Hy Fleishman, Tony Tallarico?, Lou Cameron (unsigned, but Grand Comics Database provides the following clues: "Cameron is easiest to spot by his heads and faces, which are a bit broad, and with the open mouth in sideview. He is credited on Dark Mysteries by Jerry Bails' Who's Who"). GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. Few recent sales in any grade. A 4.0 sold for $324 in November 2020.

A sexy siren in red likes her men "well-hung" on Bill Fraccio's cover illustrating Tony Tallarico's "If the Noose Fits — Wear It!" (a rehash of "If the Coffin Fits... Get In," published a year earlier in Mysterious Adventures #4). Both tales feature horny saps who get hoodwinked by sexy but evil witches. In a sexually-charged metaphor, the sad sacks in both yarns die when their miniature nooses/coffins become engorged to full size. Pre-Code mags are full of thinly-vieled sexual situations, and just like the slasher flicks that followed decades later, characters who pursue extramarital sex are sure to end up in the grave. The final panel of "If the Noose Fits" shows the witch gloating over her victim's corpse, which dangles limply in a nightmare version of post-coital malaise: "I told you I'd bring you peace..."

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2022 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art, vintage comic-related photos and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

A limited edition of 100 softcover and 6 hardcover catalogues are available. 140 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2022 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art, vintage comic-related photos and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.