‘Master Race’ Comic Book Story Comes Up for Sale

Time is closing in for those who want to buy the original pages of “Master Race,” one of the most famous comic bookstories published by EC Comics, which specialized in horror, crime and suspense tales. The story is up for bid at Heritage Auctions through Nov. 15, with an initial estimate of $150,000.

The eight-page story, originally published in 1955, depicts a postwar encounter between a Nazi war criminal and a Holocaust survivor. The story was developed by William Gaines, the publisher of EC and an editor, and writer Al Feldstein. It was illustrated by Bernie Krigstein, who fought for extra space to tell the story, which was originally to be six pages long.

“One of the most important stories in the history of comics and the history of the art of comics is up for auction,” author Neil Gaiman said on Twitter. “Posting this in the hope that it gets bought by a museum, university of major library.”

“Master Race” was recently reprinted in “We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust” by Neal Adams, Rafael Medoff and Craig Yoe.

In their introduction to the story, the authors note: “Krigstein’s artistic tour de force is widely regarded in the comics industry as one of the greatest stories in comic book history. His stylistic innovations created a sense of drama and suspense more common to film than the printed page.”