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Shock SuspenStories #6 (EC, 1952)

Artist: Wally Wood (All)

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Shock SuspenStories #6 (EC, 1952) Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Shock SuspenStories #6 (EC, 1952)
Artist:	Wally Wood (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Cover
For Sale Status:	Sold for $840,000 on June 2021
Views:	466
Likes on CAF:	2 3
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	6/14/2021
Comic Art Archive:

Description

This masterpiece is quite simply one of the top covers in the entire history of comics -- and quite a dramatic shocker at that! Wally Wood's all-time classic for the story "Under Cover!" depicts a hooded mob of the Black Vigilante Society menacing one of the most gorgeously rendered women ever to appear on a comic book cover. The stories from Shock were EC's most pointed attempts to address socially relevant subject matter such as racial prejudice, revolutionary for comic stories of the time, and no single image is more famous than this. As such, this is one of a small handful that transcends its considerable appeal as a top Wally Wood, EC, and pre-Code cover (designated as a "classic bondage cover," the comic book itself is one of the most valuable and sought out keys of the Golden Age), endlessly reproduced to represent an entire era in the broader popular consciousness. This is the definition of Comic Art with a capital "A". Adding to the appeal, the original has resided in the same collection for the last forty years since it was acquired in Russ Cochran's original EC auctions by one of the most discerning EC collectors, a hidden treasure long wondered about by generations and never offered on the market until now.
Not only is the image absolutely iconic in the largest possible sense, the artwork is stunning, representing Wood, universally acknowledged as one of the top artists ever to work in the field, at the pinnacle of his abilities. The dramatic composition is of course one of his most immediately memorable, and he pulled out all the stops in the lush, detailed rendering, varying all aspects of his inking throughout so that the spot lit figures blaze with impeccable detail. The art is a tour de force, from the main figures, down to the boldly articulated signature on the lower left, obviously intended as a showpiece for Wood himself as well as EC's entire 1950s line of pioneering comics.

This piece sold for a World Record price of $840,000 in our 2021 June Signature Auction.

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About the Owner

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Joined:	March 2020
Last Login:	September 2025
Website:	http://www.ha.com
Country:	UNITED STATES
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	Patrick Kochanek, MD 9/8/2025 11:04:00 PM
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