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Author:
Title: MUTINY Nos. 1 and 2 * Lot of Two Comics
Place Published:
Publisher:Stanley Morse [Indicia: Aragon Magazines, Inc.]
Date Published: October & December, 1954
Description:

#1: VG (4.0). Spine stress, 1/4" split at top spine, a few nicks and tiny chips to top edge of back cover, a few tiny color rubs to bottom edge of front cover, fine creases to bottom right corner of front cover. White to off-white pages. GPAnalysis: No reported sales in any grade in 14 years.

#2: Fine- (5.5). Nice copy. Light spine stress, faint handling crease. White to off-white pages. GPAnalysis: No reported sales in any grade.

Covers and art by Eugene Hughes. Full of floggings, belaying pins beating scalawags over the head, sexy sea sirens, slave ships, salty sea scoundrels, etc. Mutiny seems like shlockmeister Stanley Morse's answer to EC's final New Trend title, Piracy, but both mags debuted at roughly the same time, with October 1954 cover dates. Perhaps some element in the larger culture inspired both Gaines and Morse to publish pirate-themed mags?

In Watchmen, Alan Moore suggested that a populace weary of superheroes would prefer pirate comics to superhero mags. Maybe Gaines and Morse, knowing that pre-Code horror was on the way out, made a similar pivot to pirate-based adventure mags? In a sense, superhero and horror comics are perverse mirrors of each other, united by their mutual emphasis on crime and punishment, retribution and revenge. Pirates, on the other hand, represent absolute freedom from societal conventions and the rule of law. After being pummeled by the U.S. Senate and bluenosed citizens' groups, it's understandable that the anything-goes laxity of the high seas would beckon to pre-Code publishers.

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.