Heading:
Author:
Title: The THING! No. 9
Place Published:
Publisher:Charlton [Indicia: Capitol Stories, Inc.]
Date Published: July, 1953
Description:

VG- (3.5). Spine stress, edge nicks and a few short creased tears to front cover, tiny chip to top corner of back cover (about 2mm), diagonal crease to back cover, offsetting to inside covers. Cream to off-white pages with scattered foxing. Cover: Bob Forgione. Art: Bob Forgione, Vince Alascia, John Belfi. Used twice in SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT. GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. The lowest-grade sales are a 2.0 that sold for $87 in July 2020, and a 5.0 that sold for $333 in April 2018. PBA sold a slabbed 3.5 for $330 in October 2021 and a 5.5 for $780 in December 2020.

"A painter ties the hands of his model to the ceiling, stabs her and uses her blood for paint. (Flowing blood is shown in six pictures.)" — Dr. Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent.

"Issue #9 is valued at a premium in Overstreet because of its 'double-Seduction' status. In Seduction of the Innocent, Wertham reprinted illustrations from dozens of 'offensive' comics and described scenes from hundreds more.... The Thing! #9 has an illo ('Stomping on the face is a form of brutality which modern children learn early') and a description of the story 'Mardu's Masterpiece,' in which an artist drains blood from a model to mix with his paints.... I really get the creeps from this Bob Forgione masterpiece. Forgione did a lot of generally forgettable work for a variety of pre-Code companies; this may well be his best effort ever." — George Suarez, Terrology #11. NEC: 1993, pp. 18, 27.

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.