Lee Elias
No stranger to Pre-Code Horror fans, Lee Elias’ name shows up across a large number of well-known Pre-Code Horror comics. Elias had a long and illustrious career in comics. He got his start at Fiction House where he worked on a number of issues of Wings Comics.
His work was also published by Timely/Atlas and DC. Most notably, he was the primary Green Arrow artist during the Silver Age in backup features in Adventures Comics and World’s Finest Comics. However, it was his work for Harvey and their Pre-Code Horror slate of books for which he is most remembered.
Goriest Comic Cover?
Easily one of the most famous and goriest Pre-Code Horror covers ever published belongs to Elias: Black Cat Comics #50 from 1954. The melting face and hands on this cover are so horrific they’re almost beyond description. There are 112 graded copies including one 9.8 that has never sold.
The most recent sale was a 3.0 going in the September 17 Heritage auction for $9,000, down slightly from a November 2022 fixed price eBay sale for $9,500. The top price paid was for one of three 9.6 graded copies - $72,000 in a November 2021 Heritage auction.
Or Maybe This One’s Gorier?
Then there’s Tomb of Terror #15. Beloved by Pre-Code Horror fans for its bursting eyeball – complete with hilarious caption, “Never has a story burst…” – this cover is often shown as an explanation for why the Comics Code ever existed.
With only 135 graded copies and only two at the top grade of 9.6, it’s rare to see more than a few go up for sale in any given year.
The most recent sale was a 5.0 going for $6,600 in the July 14 Heritage auction. The highest price paid was $45,600 for one of those two in the 9.6 grade in the same November 2021 Heritage auction that saw the top sale for Black Cat #50.
More Creepy Elias Covers
Elias was a regular cover artist on Harvey’s Chamber of Chills Magazine. In particular, Chamber of Chills Magazine #19 and Chamber of Chills Magazine #23 stand out. However, while we know that Elias was the inker on both covers, it’s unclear whether the penciller was Elias or Warren Kremer. Regardless, they’re both fantastic covers.
There are 130 graded copies of Chamber of Chills Magazine #19 with one copy in the highest 9.6 grade. The most recent sale was a 3.0 selling for $12,000 in the September 17 Heritage auction. The highest price paid – and the most paid for any of Elias’ covers – was $102,000 for the singular 9.6 in that November 2021 Heritage auction.
There are 103 graded copies of Chamber of Chills Magazine #23 with its kiss of death cover. There are only two copies in the highest 9.2 grade. A 4.5 just sold in an October 2 fixed-price eBay sale for $6,550. The highest sale was on July 31 when a 9.0 went for a slashed $40,000.
L.B. Cole
L.B. Cole was one of the great cover artists of the Golden Age, working across genres and publishers to produce some of the boldest comic covers of the era, most notably on Mask Comics. So, it’s no surprise that he has some amazing Pre-Code Horror covers as part of his body of work.
Suspense Comics #8 published by Continental Publications in 1945 is a fine example of Cole’s use of the spider motif to denote terror.
There are 69 graded copies, few of which sell each year. A 4.5 sold in a May 27 fixed price eBay sale for $8,429. The record setter was a 9.2 Promise Collection copy selling in the September 2021 Heritage auction for $60,000.
More Spiders
Another spider cover by Cole graced Startling Terror Tales #11 published in 1952. Creepier than the cover for Suspense Comics #8, holders of this book in the higher grades rarely sell. In fact, only one copy above 7.0 has sold since 2013.
That copy was an 8.5 going for $19,200 in the November 2021 Heritage auction. Of the 111 graded copies in the CGC census two are in the 9.2 grade and one in the 9.0 grade. None of those has ever sold.
Bill Everett
Most comic collectors know Bill Everett as the creator of Namor, the Sub-Mariner for Funnies Inc. and published by Timely Comics in their first publication, Marvel Comics #1. Everett was one of the few Marvel mainstay artists who, after serving in World War II, would continue providing work as superheroes faded and Timely became Atlas.
Purveyors of multiple comic genres, Atlas published a number of horror comics and Everett was one of the top cover artists for these works. Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that Everett was the co-creator – along with Stan Lee – of a character by the name of Daredevil.
The Zombie
Everett also co-created with Lee a character named Zombie who graced the cover of Menace #5 published in 1953. Simon Garth would eventually star in Marvel’s black and white 1970s magazine Tales of the Zombie.
There are 68 graded copies of Menace #5, none of which has sold in 2023. The highest price paid was $15,600 for one of only two top graded 8.5 copies in a January 2021 Heritage auction.
The Russian Devil
One of Everett’s best pieces of art during the Pre-Code Horror era graced the cover of Mystic #18. Humorous yet terrifying, it exemplifies the artist’s output at the time. There are only 44 graded copies, none above the 8.5 grade.
A 7.5 sold in the August 25 ComicConnect auction for $5,290, which is the highest price paid for a copy. The singular top 8.5 graded copy has never sold and the lone 8.0 graded copy last sold in 2006 for a mere $203.
The Kiss of Death
Finally, there's the timeless Venus #19, easily Everett's best-known work outside of his creation of Sub-Mariner. The woman's look of absolute horror as her dancing partner is revealed to be a skeleton is as realistic as any you'll see on the cover of a Pre-Code Horror comic.
There are only 67 graded copies, none above 9.0, and only single copies in each of the grades above 6.0. The most recent sale - and only sale this year - was the singular 8.5 graded copy going for $76,000 in the March 18 ComicConnect auction. That also marks the record high price paid for this comic as the 9.0 has never sold.
Next Time – Bernard Baily, Johnny Craig, Lou Morales, and more!
Do you have a favorite Pre-Code Horror comic cover artist? Let us know below!
