Author:
Title: JOURNEY INTO FEAR No. 19
Place Published:
Publisher:Superior [Indicia: Superior Publishers Ltd.]
Date Published: May, 1954
Description: CBCS certified: VG (4.0). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: 2/3" tear top spine spine tears, wear, stress & creases breaks color edge wear, bends & creases breaks color 4.5" corner crease left top back cover breaks color. Note: Light scuffs to slab.

GPAnalysis: A CGC-graded 4.0 sold for $375 in 2/24.

Credits: "Doctor Shade," uncredited Iger Shop stalwarts. Ruch Roche, editor.Tarmac of Terror: Crazy mag, surreal AF. Each tale is more gonzo than the last, culminating in "The Flat Man," possibly inspired by Jack Davis's "Graft in Concrete" (Vault of Horror #26). Whereas the EC version climaxes with the antagonists getting flattened by a steamroller on the final page, the Superior version cuts right to the chase, steamrolling the title character on page two. The rest of the story deals with the poor guy trying to cope with being a flat freak. Writer Ruth Roche milks the Flat Man's emotional desperation for all its worth, mixing romance, crime and horror comic tropes in a dizzying cocktail of nihilism and naïveté, Superior's signature style.

After the Flat Man's disgusted fiancée dumps his flat ass, he turns to robbery and murder, then shacks up with a gold digger who tries to snuff him like – well, like one of those flat lamp wicks, we suppose. The story ends when the Flat Man and his wife randomly get squished by a runaway steamroller. "Rolled into the final embrace, a red sludge in the road, no one can ever part them again! Not even the undertaker!"

"The crudity of the artwork and often mystifying plots of Superior's bizarre horror stories gives them a lurid, dreamy quality... expressive of the grey, shadowy 1950s in a way that even EC couldn't match." – EC, MAD and Pre-Code HORROR Comics of the 1950s. Green Apple Books: 1997, p. 13.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.