Racket Squad in Action (1952) comic books

Add to cart VG- 3.5 $223.00 View scans

Cover by Albert Tyler and Bob Forgione. Stories and art by Walter Gibson, Dick Giordano, Albert Tyler and Bob Forgione. Pre-Code crime comics from Charlton, focusing on swindlers and con games. Inspector J.J. O'Malley investigates bets on a Guatemalan race that never takes place. A smart society crook preys on unsuspecting gem dealers. Advice to the reader on when to be wary of con games, such as the old shell game, or gambling with strangers on a train. Plus a great inside-cover "contents page," also by Forgione, describing the stories in this issue in all their tawdry, two-fisted glory. Some scripts in this issue are by Walter Gibson, legendary writer of The Shadow's pulp adventures. Inspector J.J. O'Malley: The Badger Racket; Gamblers Wont Gamble; Count Your Change; Inspector J.J. O'Malley: The Jewelry Swindle; Inspector J.J. O'Malley: Guatemala Sweepstakes; The Old Shell Game. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart GD 2.0 $21.00 View scan

Cover by Frank Frollo. Stories and art by Walter Gibson, Dick Giordano, and Frank Frollo. Pre-Code crime comics from Charlton, focusing on swindlers and con games. An ordinary man falls for the Spanish Prisoner swindle, an ancient confidence trick better known these days as the "Nigerian prince scam." Waiter Jerry works in a casino where he has perfected the art of "cold-decking," or switching card decks, but in the end, the Joker's on him. Dr. William Neff, a real-life debunker dubbed the "Ghost-Breaker," reveals a spiritualism scam through trick photography. Plus advice to the reader on avoiding con artists. Some scripts in this issue may be by Walter Gibson, legendary writer of The Shadow's pulp adventures. The Spanish Prison Racket; Cold Deck; The Big Time Build-Up; Charge It; Dr. Neff, the Original Ghost-Breaker: The Spirit Photo Racket; The Horse That Couldnt Lose; Rackets. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart FR 1.0 $4.80 Cover and centerfold detached. Water damage and mold. Staple rust and migration.

Cover art by Frank Frollo and Vince Alascia. Easy Money Racket, pencils by Frank Frollo, inks by Tony Tallarico. Calm Cool and Collected, pencils by Frank Frollo, inks by Vince Alascia. The Rug CleanUp, pencils by Dick Giordano, inks by Sal Trapani. Smooth as Silk, pencils by Frank Frollo, inks by Tony Tallarico. The Yogi from Chinchon text story, art by Frank Frollo. Opening Night, art by Stan Campbell. The Shiner, art by John Belfi. Swindle on the Midway, pencils by Frank Frollo, inks by Vince Alascia. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart GD+ 2.5 $9.00 Missing corner piece.

Cover by Dick Giordano and Vince Alascia. Stories and art by Bill Molno, Sal Trapani, John Belfi and Chic Stone. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. Ex-con Lester decides to "go straight" by switching to white-collar crime, specifically, insider trading. An "auto health plan" turns out to be just another swindle. Even the lanes are not safe, as crooked gamblers target bowling alleys. The Awful Waste; This Time Youll Play It Smart; Dont Be a Sucker; The Automobile Health Plan Racket; Hook Line and Sucker. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart FR 1.0 $12.75

Cover by Dick Giordano and Vince Alascia. Stories and art by Dick Giordano, Dick Wood, Bill Molno, Bill Ely, Vince Alascia, Sal Trapani, and Chic Stone. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. A jeweler hires a private eye to find out how his messenger keeps switching out precious gems for fakes. Cultured, well-spoken "Sir Thomas" specializes in fleecing wealthy marks. American tourists in France get swindled out of their passports. The Man Who Stole from Himself; The Fabulous Sir Thomas; The Shortchange Racket; Television Trouble; Passport to Trouble; The Portrait Racketeers; The Hot Watch Racket. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart GD- 1.8 $8.80

Cover by Bill Molno and Vince Alascia. Stories and art by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio, Bill Molno, Vince Alascia, and Sal Trapani. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. An accident and a smashed window is but the first act of Tuffy's loan-sharking scheme targeting a small-business owner. A policewoman goes undercover to discover how a phony medium is conning the wealthy and bereaved. Con Burkley makes a tidy profit selling other people's houses at a bargain - even though they're not for sale. Through the Broken Window; The Spirits; Rancid; Train Robbers; Mansions for Sale; His Brothers Keeper. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart GD- 1.8 $8.80

Cover by Dick Giordano and Vince Alascia. Stories and art by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio, Bill Molno, Charles Nicholas, Vince Alascia, and Sal Trapani. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. Detective O'Malley discovers the secret behind a long-unsolved string of car thefts. Cyrus Wells gains a reputation for clairvoyance by predicting news events a day before they're broadcast on the radio to his small mountain village. When people have no memory of being swindled out of their money, Detective O'Malley suspects a crooked hypnotist is behind it all. Dead Duck; The Oracle; Some Stones; They Couldnt Remember; Big Bargain. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart FR/GD 1.5 $19.00

Cover by Maurice Whitman. Stories and art by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio, Bill Molno, Charles Nicholas, and Vince Alascia. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. Scar-faced ex-con Dapper Dan figures out an art forgery scheme that is technically legit, to avoid the law. Detectives catch a known shoplifter in the act, but it's all just a little too easy. An out-of-work Alaskan bush pilot takes a dicey job for a crook who wants to rob a Saskatchewan prospector's family of their mineral ore. Never Again; False Arrest; Clay Pigeon; Oil Not from Texas; Decoy; Fools Contract. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart GD 2.0 $6.80

Cover by Dick Giordano and Vince Alascia. Stories and art by Ross Andru, Bill Molno, Charles Nicholas, and Vince Alascia. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. When $1000 goes missing from a bank, cops suspect an inside job, but they don't know how right they are. Bomb-squad detective Dan must defuse a time bomb on the subway tracks before a train bears down on him. "Sgt. Joe Pride" goes after an auto-theft ring, in one of two stories that were likely originally intended as "Dragnet" stories featuring Sgt. Joe Friday. Sgt. Joe Pride: The Missing Money Racket; Heirlooms Inc.; Detonation Squad; My Mink; Sgt. Joe Pride: The Car Racket; The Great Electric Trap. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart GD 2.0 $8.50

Cover by Maurice Whitman. Stories and art by Ross Andru, Bill Molno, Charles Nicholas, and Vince Alascia. Racket Squad's focus on swindlers and con games allowed it to survive the Comics Code longer than most Pre-Code crime comics. When a man offers to buy up worthless oil-company stock at high prices, it seems too good to be true. A fast-fingered jewel thief pulls "The Old Switcheroo" while examining rings in a jewelry store. "Sgt. Joe Pride" investigates a ransacked apartment where nothing appears stolen, in a story that was likely originally intended as a "Dragnet" story featuring Sgt. Joe Friday. The Big Pay-Off; Thieves Thief; Stake-Out; The Old Switcheroo; Half a Heel; The Friendly Game; Glamour Boy; A Little Guilty; The Model Victim; Air Conditioned; In the Cameras Eye; Sgt. Joe Pride: Sorehead. Double-sized final issue of the series. 64 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.15.