Alex Schomburg’s Pulpy Cover of Black Terror #20, Up for Auction

Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Alex Schomburg, Black Terror, Ned Pines

For many Golden Age collectors, a classic Schomburg cover is a collecting goal in itself, and his cover for Black Terror #20 (1947) delivers.

The American comic book industry of 1947 faced a number of emerging challenges.  The publishing market forces that had propelled most costumed heroes to unprecedented heights of popularity had faded with the end of the war.  On newsstands across the country, reader interest was shifting, as publishers did their best to adapt to a rapidly changing market. Superhero titles that had been hits just a few years prior were now being canceled or retooled to feature emerging genres like crime, romance, and horror.  It’s clear from his body of work that Alex Schomburg understood the assignment.

For the cover of Black Terror #20, the intricate chaos of his war-era cover has been replaced by a bolder and just as potent combination of supernatural mystery, lurid danger, and classic Good Girl Art. The image of a helpless, scantily-clad woman mesmerized by a sinister, hooded figure while the Black Terror charges to her defense appeals to the darker, pulpy themes from which publisher Ned Pines had built his original empire.  For many Golden Age collectors, a classic Schomburg GGA cover is a collecting goal in itself, and this issue delivers one of his best from the period.  There’s a very nice CGC FN 6.0 Off-white pages copy of The Black Terror #20 (Nedor Publications, 1947)  up for auction in the 2025 September 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction II at Heritage Auctions.

The stories inside The Black Terror #20 are a clear reflection of shifting market forces. Not exactly pure superhero tales, they are hybrids using the established hero as a vehicle for stories that tap into the newly popular formats. This allowed publisher Ned Pines to leverage the brand recognition of his popular character while feeling out where the market was going.  The Fenton Drug Store and You’ll Die Laughing stories are classic crime comics involving gangsters, racketeering, drug company secrets, and chemical formulas, and classic pulp tropes adapted for comic books.  The backup story featuring The Scarab is a throwback to 1930s pulp mysticism, its status as the character’s last Golden Age appearance feels closing the door to make way for the rising genres of crime and romance.

There are only 49 copies of The Black Terror #20 on the CGC census, with just 19 of those graded higher than this CGC FN 6.0 Off-white pager.   This issue has seen rising popularity in recent times, driven by the appeal of that classic Schomburg GGA cover.  There’s a very pretty copy up for auction in the 2025 September 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction II at Heritage Auctions.

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