Key Collector Comics
Pre-Code Horror

Comic Book covers produced prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority 

« ‹ 1 2 › »

Clicking on the eBay link and making a purchase may result in this site earning a commission from the eBay Partner Network.

Weird Horrors #7
St. John ⋅ 1953
View Details
Weird Horrors #7
 
Low
$200
Mid
$800
High
$2k

Key Facts

Cover art by William Ekgren

Shocking Mystery Cases #51
Star ⋅ 1952
View Details
Shocking Mystery Cases #51
 
Low
$2.8k
Mid
$960
High
$2.8k

Key Facts

Extreme violence cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Bulls-Eye Comics #11
Chesler Dynamic ⋅ 1944
View Details
Bulls-Eye Comics #11
 
Low
$500
Mid
$1.5k
High
$5k

Key Facts

Classic skull cover art by George Tuska

Chilling Tales #17
Youthful ⋅ 1953
View Details
Chilling Tales #17
 
Low
$230
Mid
$815
High
$2.3k

Key Facts

Cover art by Matt Fox, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

The Thing #16
Charlton ⋅ 1954
View Details
The Thing #16
 
Low
$35
Mid
$115
High
$350

Key Facts

Pre-code horror Injury-to-Eye panel

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Weird Mysteries #6
Stanley Morse ⋅ 1953
View Details
Weird Mysteries #6
 
Low
$650
Mid
$1.9k
High
$6.5k

Key Facts

Decapitation cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Haunt of Fear #7
EC ⋅ 1951
View Details
Haunt of Fear #7
 
Low
$90
Mid
$315
High
$950

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

This Magazine Is Haunted #7
Fawcett ⋅ 1952
View Details
This Magazine Is Haunted #7
 
Low
$125
Mid
$410
High
$1.2k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Blue Bolt #119
Funnies Inc. ⋅ 1953
View Details
Blue Bolt #119
 
Low
$400
Mid
$1.2k
High
$4k

Key Facts

Final issue of Blue Bolt, retitled Ghostly Weird Stories continuing with issue #120

Thrilling Crime Cases #49
Star ⋅ 1952
View Details
Thrilling Crime Cases #49
 
Low
$575
Mid
$1.5k
High
$5.8k

Key Facts

Cover art by L.B. Cole

Haunt of Fear #18
EC ⋅ 1953
View Details
Haunt of Fear #18
 
Low
$140
Mid
$475
High
$1.4k

Key Facts

Cover art featuring The Old Witch

Interior biography of Ray Bradbury and story adaptation of The Black Ferris

Strange Tales #28
Marvel ⋅ 1954
View Details
Strange Tales #28
 
Low
$900
Mid
$2.8k
High
$9.5k

Key Facts

Cover art by Harry Anderson

Marvel Tales #93
Marvel ⋅ 1949
View Details
Marvel Tales #93
 
Low
$300
Mid
$1k
High
$3k

Key Facts

Formerly titled Marvel Mystery Comics

New format featuring horror and sci-fi tales

Beware! Terror Tales #8
Fawcett ⋅ 1953
View Details
Beware! Terror Tales #8
 
Low
$215
Mid
$765
High
$2.2k

Key Facts

Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Chilling Tales #15
Youthful ⋅ 1953
View Details
Chilling Tales #15
 
Low
$850
Mid
$4.5k
High
$11.9k

Key Facts

Cover art by Matt Fox

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Tormented #1
Sterling ⋅ 1954
View Details
Tormented #1
 
Low
$650
Mid
$1.8k
High
$6.5k

Key Facts

Classic pre-code horror story 'Caterpillar House'

Only two issues of Tormented were released before the Comics Code Authority placed major restrictions on the horror format

Crime Suspenstories #21
EC ⋅ 1954
View Details
Crime Suspenstories #21
 
Low
$90
Mid
$315
High
$925

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Vault of Horror #37
EC ⋅ 1954
View Details
Vault of Horror #37
 
Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Drusilla, female host of the anthology title

Hanging cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Baffling Mysteries #7
Ace ⋅ 1952
View Details
Baffling Mysteries #7
 
Low
$385
Mid
$1.2k
High
$3.9k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Crime Suspenstories #23
EC ⋅ 1954
View Details
Crime Suspenstories #23
 
Low
$255
Mid
$725
High
$2.2k

Key Facts

Cover art by George Evans, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Eerie #3
UK Edition ⋅ Avon ⋅ 1951
View Details
Eerie #3
 
Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2k

Key Facts

Cover art by Wally Wood

Crime Suspenstories #19
EC ⋅ 1953
View Details
Crime Suspenstories #19
 
Low
$160
Mid
$525
High
$1.6k

Key Facts

Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a man pours the poison used to kill his wife down the drain and avoids being charged for murder

Weird Terror #3
Comic Media ⋅ 1953
View Details
Weird Terror #3
 
Low
$210
Mid
$815
High
$2.1k

Key Facts

Cover art by Don Heck, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Mister Mystery #12
Media Pub. ⋅ 1953
View Details
Mister Mystery #12
 
Low
$2k
Mid
$8k
High
$22k

Key Facts

Iconic 'Injury to Eye' cover

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Crime Suspenstories #24
EC ⋅ 1954
View Details
Crime Suspenstories #24
 
Low
$115
Mid
$440
High
$1.5k

Key Facts

Morbid cover art by George Evans, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

📣 Signature Auction: New High [Previous High]

GAINES FILE COPY 9.4 sold for $3,360 [$2,040 in 2019] +65%

Startling Terror Tales #10
Star ⋅ 1952
View Details
Startling Terror Tales #10
 
Low
$180
Mid
$600
High
$1.8k

Key Facts

Damsel in distress cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), opening story

Shock Suspenstories #4
EC ⋅ 1952
View Details
Shock Suspenstories #4
 
Low
$80
Mid
$250
High
$875

Key Facts

Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a man is severely beaten by the police while the real killer, a high-ranking cop, gets away with murder

Horrific #5
Comic Media ⋅ 1953
View Details
Horrific #5
 
Low
$150
Mid
$500
High
$1.5k

Key Facts

Cover art by Don Heck

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Horrific #4
Comic Media ⋅ 1953
View Details
Horrific #4
 
Low
$420
Mid
$1.1k
High
$4.2k

Key Facts

Cover art by Don Heck

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Horrific #2
Comic Media ⋅ 1952
View Details
Horrific #2
 
Low
$350
Mid
$1.4k
High
$3.5k

Key Facts

Banned cover art that bleakly suggests humanity is nothing but a puppet show performed by ghoulish parental archetypes where the father is brainless and the mother is sadistic

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Horrific #1
Comic Media ⋅ 1952
View Details
Horrific #1
 
Low
$625
Mid
$1.8k
High
$6.2k

Key Facts

Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Tomb of Terror #15
Harvey ⋅ 1954
View Details
Tomb of Terror #15
 
Low
$1.6k
Mid
$5.7k
High
$19k

Key Facts

Cover art depicting graphic horror

One of nine comics banned by Congress

One of many examples during this era of an eye injury that adds value to a cover similar to: 'headlights' 'bondage' 'Nazis' and other recurring taboos

Menace #9
Atlas ⋅ 1954
View Details
Menace #9
 
Low
$200
Mid
$860
High
$2.8k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Startling Terror Tales #5
Star ⋅ 1953
View Details
Startling Terror Tales #5
 
Low
$650
Mid
$1.9k
High
$6.5k

Key Facts

Demon cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Blue Bolt #115
Funnies Inc. ⋅ 1952
View Details
Blue Bolt #115
 
Low
$600
Mid
$1.8k
High
$6k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Power Comics #3
Holyoke ⋅ 1945
View Details
Power Comics #3
 
Low
$660
Mid
$1.9k
High
$6.8k

Key Facts

Cover art by L.B. Cole

Ghost Comics #6
Fiction House ⋅ 1953
View Details
Ghost Comics #6
 
Low
$400
Mid
$1.2k
High
$4k

Key Facts

Cover art depicting bondage

Crime Suspenstories #11
EC ⋅ 1952
View Details
Crime Suspenstories #11
 
Low
$110
Mid
$300
High
$1.1k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Weird Mysteries #5
Stanley Morse ⋅ 1953
View Details
Weird Mysteries #5
 
Low
$2.3k
Mid
$9.4k
High
$23k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

📣 Signature Auction: New High [Previous High]

6.0 sold for $16,200 [$11,650 in 2019] +39%

Tales From the Crypt #41
EC ⋅ 1954
View Details
Tales From the Crypt #41
 
Low
$150
Mid
$500
High
$1.5k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Shock Suspenstories #6
EC ⋅ 1952
View Details
Shock Suspenstories #6
 
Low
$460
Mid
$1.8k
High
$4.6k

Key Facts

Iconic cover art by Wally Wood, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Forbidden Worlds #24
ACG ⋅ 1953
View Details
Forbidden Worlds #24
 
Low
$150
Mid
$500
High
$1.5k

Key Facts

Cover art by Ken Bald

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Suspense Comics #3
Continental ⋅ 1944
View Details
Suspense Comics #3
 
Low
$26k
Mid
$72k
High
$200k

Key Facts

Cover art by Alex Schomburg

Considered to be the most valuable non-superhero comic book

Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11
Charlton ⋅ 1953
View Details
Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11
 
Low
$1.2k
Mid
$4k
High
$12k

Key Facts

Pre-code horror cover referred to as the 'Tongue Bouquet' cover

Weird Chills #1
Key ⋅ 1954
View Details
Weird Chills #1
 
Low
$400
Mid
$1.2k
High
$4k

Key Facts

Cover art by Bernard Baily

📣 Signature Auction: New High [Previous High]

5.0 sold for $1,680 [$725 in 2017] +132%

Weird Chills #2
Key ⋅ 1954
View Details
Weird Chills #2
 
Low
$285
Mid
$880
High
$3.2k

Key Facts

Cover art by Bernard Baily

Weird Chills #3
Key ⋅ 1954
View Details
Weird Chills #3
 
Low
$285
Mid
$880
High
$3.2k

Key Facts

Cover art by Bernard Baily

Horrific #3
Comic Media ⋅ 1953
View Details
Horrific #3
 
Low
$830
Mid
$2.2k
High
$8.3k

Key Facts

Horror cover, published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

Suspense Comics #8
Continental ⋅ 1945
View Details
Suspense Comics #8
 
Low
$1.2k
Mid
$4k
High
$12k

Key Facts

Iconic cover art by L.B. Cole

🥈 Runner-Up: New High [Previous High]

2.0 sold for $2,200 [$895 in 2020] +146%

Dynamic Comics #8
Chesler Dynamic ⋅ 1943
View Details
Dynamic Comics #8
 
Price Trend
Low
$6k
Mid
$180k
High
$60k

Key Facts

Published prior to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority

📣 Signature Auction: New High [Previous High]

3.0 sold for $19,800 [$4,800 in 2019] +313%

« ‹ 1 2 › »

Adjust Your Filters To See More Comics!

By default Key Collector searches for Standard Cover Key Issues.

Adjust the "Variants" search filter above for additional content:

  • Variant Covers ([[totalVariants]])

At Key Collector, our primary focus is on unearthing those rare Standard Cover Key Issues for you. However, the world of comic collectibles is vast and varied. We want to make sure you have the tools to explore it all!