Approximate
Condition Profile
DELL COMICS · 9/62
UNIT ECA-010171
DRACULA, THE MUMMY (UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS) #NN
1962 Dell Giant adapting Universal's Dracula and The Mummy, with painted monster-movie cover art
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Comics | September 1962 | Silver | — | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-010171 | ~4.5 | — | AVAILABLE |
// Condition analysis
Cover shows several prominent diagonal creases across the upper-left quadrant with visible color break through the dark artwork, along with general edge and corner wear typical of a handled Silver Age Dell Giant. The spine shows some stress and the top edge appears slightly rough/chipped. The book is currently housed in a protective sleeve, which shows glare and crinkle lines but these are on the bag, not necessarily the cover itself, though some creasing appears to be on the comic. Interior pages and back cover were not visible/assessed, so grade may shift once fully examined.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $20 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $36 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $3,200 |
// Archive commentary
This oversized Dell Giant from September 1962 brought the Universal Pictures horror stable into comics form, adapting Dracula and The Mummy alongside additional monster-themed stories under Dell's licensing arrangement with the studio. Dell Giants of this period favored painted, poster-style covers rather than standard newsstand art, and this issue's rendering of the two title monsters is representative of that format's appeal to both comic and classic-horror film collectors. No new characters or firsts originate here; its interest is rooted in licensed nostalgia rather than superhero-style key status.
The certified population is small at 28 Universal copies, and the grade distribution is thin and irregular, with several mid-grade slots (5.5, 4, 3.5, 3) showing census presence but no recorded sales. Pricing rises sharply above grade 7, and the complete absence of any 9.6 or 9.8 across the entire census points to a book that is structurally difficult to find in top condition, likely a function of Dell Giant paper stock and larger trim size rather than scarcity of the print run itself. Demand is driven by crossover collectors of Universal Monsters memorabilia and Dell/Western horror-adjacent material rather than mainstream superhero buyers, which keeps the book a steady but non-explosive performer.
Lower and mid-grade raw copies trade as affordable curiosities for genre collectors assembling Dell horror runs or Universal Monsters ephemera, while high-grade certified copies are scarce enough that a true Gem Mint or even solid 9.8 example would represent a census-topping rarity commanding a significant premium over any presently known copy. This is a book best suited to specialist collectors and dealers serving the classic-monster market rather than general Silver Age investors, with slow but consistent turnover across all grade tiers.
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