YOUR GRAVE IS READY!

Standard Comics was the comic book imprint of Pines Publications, formed by Ned Pines in 1939. Standard was the parent company of two other Pines comics imprints, Better Publications and Nedor Publications.

The comic seen here today, THE UNSEEN, is listed in the indicia as being published by yet another company, Visual Editions, Inc.

Here's a full issue of fearsome frolics featuring such delightful tales as a boy raised by wolves who can't keep his bloodlust under control when he is adopted into normal life, an exterminator who has other ideas about rats besides killing them and a painting that foreshadows a man's doom. Plus, plenty of mayhem, shrunken heads. the Mexican spirit-woman La Llorna and more.

NOTE: Third-party ads have been removed from this scan.

THE UNSEEN

Vol. 1, No. 9

March 1953

Standard Comics (Pines)

Editor: ?

Cover: Art Saaf

Cover price: 10 cents

CONTENTS

"Your Grave is Ready"

Script: ?

Art: Ross Andru

"The Rat Man"

Script: ?

Art: Jack Katz

"The Wailing Woman" (one-page story about Mexico's La Llorona spirit)

Script: ?

Art: George Roussos

"The Painted Prophecy" (text story)

Script: Mickey Marks

Art: Jack Katz

"Til Death Do Us Part"

Script: ?

Art: Ralph Mayo

"The Bleeding Platter"

Script: ?

Art: Ross Andru; Mike Espositio (signed as "MikeRoss")

"The Phantom Hitch Hiker" (one-page story)

Script: ?

Art: Art Saaf

THE SUBWAY TERROR!

Watch out, New York! Your subways are being terrorized by hideous creatures. Unknown to the city at large, they are responsible for the disappearance of numerous citizens who are never heard from again. Enter patrolman Dave Whitley, who has stumbled upon them and reports his sighting to his sergeant. Whitley volunteers to transfer to "Department G", a special force tasked with eradicating the vile things. By the end of the story, you'll know how he manages to survive an attack and why his partner should have stayed a beat cop!

"The Subway Terror" appeared in Stanley Morse's MISTER MYSTERY #2 (November 1951). The cover (above) and story art is by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

IT'S ALL IN THE HANDS

The word for today is "vestigial", meaning "an organ or part of the body degenerate, rudimentary, or atrophied, having become functionless in the course of evolution". In Tom's poor case, he is tormented by a twisted version of this, courtesy of his twin brother. "Hand", drawn by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito appeared in MISTER MYSTERY #1 (Stanley Morse, September 1951).

There's also a scene in this story that you won't see these days: Tom and his doctor light up and have a smoke while the doc discusses his case!

A POUND OF FLESH

It's just a hard fact of life that more than one man has said: "My wife's gone to hell!" after a few years of marriage. That might have rung true back in the day, but if you ask me, these days women spend more time keeping themselves looking good than ever before.

Not so in this story, "A Pound of Flesh" from MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURES #16 (Story Comics, October 1953), where Herbert, a mechanic and "tinkerer" hatches an idea to bring his wife back to the beauty that she was when he married her. How he does it is seen in the revolting end of the story. The art is reported to have been done by Ross Andru and I think that's a pretty good guess.