Beschreibung:

CRIME SUSPENSTORIES No. 1 Publisher: EC [Indicia: L.L. Publishing Co., Inc.] Date Published: October-November 1950 Description: CGC certified: Fine (6.0). Purple Label (Restored: C-1). Restoration includes: tear seal to cover. White pages. Cover: Johnny Craig Plots and scripts: Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein Art: Johnny Craig Wally Wood, Graham Ingels Harvey Kurtzman Second State, with "Formerly Vault of Horror" in the indicia not blacked out. According to Grant Geissman, "The first printing reads 'Crime SuspenStories, Oct.-Nov. 1950, Vol. 1, No. 15 (Formerly Vault of Horror).' with this lettering blacked out and 'Vol. 1, No. 1.' inserted above. The second printing simply reads 'Vol. 1, No. 1.'" GPAnalysis: A Purple Label C-1 5.5 sold for $504 in 11/21. Before EC launched Crime SuspenStories, crime comics were mainly of the cops-and-robbers variety. CSS avoided this overworked category, opting instead for a bleak film noir sensibility. Cops might show up in a CSS caper, but they seldom solved the crime or saved the day. Instead, the stories owed a debt to the hardboiled, desperate scenarios of James M. Cain: adultery and murder were mainstays, rather than bank robbers, bandits and racketeers. 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 Fall 2023 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, featuring over 40,000 comics, comprising every comic book published by DC for retail sale between 1934 and 2014. Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list. Item#: 352203 Headline: CRIME SUSPENSTORIES #1 * CGC 6.0 Purple Label * Fantastic First Ish