The secondary comic market regularly ebbs and flows as book sales go through moderate changes, and occasionally see big jumps (or falls) in value. Overstreet Access tracks these changes through diligent research into the market and via assessment of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide marketing reports. Those changes are routinely updated on OverstreetAccess.com’s Recent Value Changes page, which can be viewed with a membership to the website.

Horror comics have been a major part of the comic book medium since the Golden Age. The genre frightens and excites consumers in ways that some readers wholly embrace and others find simply distasteful. The bold storytelling and shocking covers have made horror comics some of the most valuable books outside of the superhero genre.

Crime SuspenStories #22 (May 1954) is a prime example of the polarizing effect that horror comics have on readers and the public. The book was published by EC Comics at the tail end of the Golden Age when publishers were exploring more genres as the popularity for superheroes was wanning. The book is notorious for Johnny Craig’s cover that shows a woman’s decapitated head. A man holds her head by the hair, her eyes are rolled up into her head, and drool drips from her mouth. Part of her body is seen on the floor, and the man holds a gore-covered axe in his other hand.

Craig’s shocking cover caused a public outcry and became one of the primary examples used to condemn horror comics. As a result, comic publishers developed their own censorship standards which became known as the Comics Code Authority.

Overstreet Pricing Editor Yolanda Ramirez did a recent valuation update of Crime SuspenStories #22 and has listed it as $35,000 in Near Mint-/9.2 grade. That reflects $5,000 and 16.7% in growth since the last update. Now that Overstreet Access is tracking prices higher than 9.2, Ramirez has found that the book in 9.8 Near Mint/Mint is valued at $280,000.

Overstreet Access users can find the Recent Value Changes by clicking on the “Search Titles” tab in the Quick Navigation bar on the home page. Then click the green “Recent Value Changes” button on the “Titles” page.