Bill Everett’s Kiss of Death in Venus #19, Up for Auction

Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: bill everett, pre-code horror

One of the most sought-after Pre-Code Horror comics, Bill Everett’s cover for Venus #19 is a fitting reflection of the “Kiss of Death.”

Legendary creator Bill Everett contributed nearly 100 covers to the Marvel/Atlas Pre-Code era, most of them highly sought-after by collectors today, and his cover for Venus #19 is considered the best of the bunch, and one of the best Pre-Code Horror covers ever created.  The story behind the cover, also written and drawn by Everett, is billed on the cover as “The Most Terrifying Horror that Ever Existed!”

That’s a bold claim, but that cover story, The Kiss of Death is indisputably a stellar example of Pre-Code Horror, and it is beautifully reflected by that cover.  The story opens with Venus and her companion Whitney Hammond at the home of a spirit medium.  They expected to expose him as a fraud, but he immediately convinces his guests with a shocking display of his very real power. The medium warns his guests that they must remain inside the circle of protection that he has drawn on the floor for what will come next.  Only the circle can protect them from the evils of the dead.

Soon, the medium’s client for the evening arrives, a man named Andreas with a fascinating story to tell.  During World War I, Andreas and four of his platoon buddies all loved the same woman.  But Mara, whom Andreas calls “the most beautiful woman on Earth” would not choose between them.  Finally, she arrives at a solution: Mara will marry the man who outlives his three friends.  Andres tells the medium that he has outlived his friend, but has lost track of Mara, and he has come to speak with his three dead friends to try to find her.  The specters of the dead friends arrive to tell Andreas that “Mara is here with us. She, too, is dead!”

At Andreas’ assistance, the medium orders the specters to find Mara’s spirit, and soon she arrives.  Even in her unearthly skeletal form, Andreas cannot resist her, and he steps outside the circle of protection to embrace his love.  It is only then that the medium, Venus, and Hammond realize what has actually transpired here.  Andreas pulls back his face (his “mask of life,” as the story calls it) to reveal that he, too, is already dead, and the dead lovers finally embrace in the afterlife.

Everett’s cover reflects the story quite well, with the specters of the three dead friends standing to the side as Andreas pulls back his “mask of life” to reveal his true form and embrace his love.  While Venus is essentially a bystander in this tale, one can certainly understand Everett replacing Andreas’ love Mara with the goddess of love Venus for the purpose of getting the title’s star on the cover.

Cover to cover Venus #19 is an example of Pre-Code Horror at its very best, and it’s certainly a fitting end to this important Marvel/Atlas series.  The beautiful CGC 6.0 copy at auction here appears to be the second highest-graded copy to hit public auction in at least 20 years. It’s up for auction in the 2024 October 24 – 25 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40272 at Heritage Auctions.

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