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Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) comic books 1941-1943

  • Issue #22
    Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) 22
    • Restored: B1
    • Paper: Off white to white
    • Restoration includes: tear seal to cover, glue on 13th page, cover reinforced. (Married 13th page)
    • Label #1292690003
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout.

    Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Dick Briefer, Harry Lucey, Woody Hamilton, Carl Hubbell, Bob Montana, George Tuska, Norman Maurer, Alan Mandel, Lev Gleason and Charles Biro. Numbering continues from Silver Streak Comics (1939) #21. Erroneously listed as issue #23 on cover (#22 in indicia). The title that launched the crime comics genre, Crime Does Not Pay was noted for its violent pre-Code content and lurid tales of underworld life. The series kicks off with the true story of 1930s mobster Louis Lepke Buchalter, the gangster who created the Murder, Inc. killer-for-hire operation. The Wild West gunfighter "Wild Bill" Hickok becomes a figure of legend. Paralyzed polio survivor Bill Reed develops a set of prosthetic wings and becomes the superhero War Eagle, in his sole adventure. Crime Kings: The Real Story Behind Lepke, Mad Dog of the Underworld; Wild Bill Hickok; Officer Edward Maher and the Mad Dog Killers of Fifth Avenue; The Saga of Harpshead Road; Two-Legged Rats; The Mad Musician and His Tunes of Doom; The Crime Corner Presents: Hollywoods Panther Man, The Jersey Devil; The Case of the Twisted Cigarettes; The Blackout Murder Mystery; Dickie Dean, The Boy Inventor; The War Eagle. 64 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

  • Issue #28
    Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) 28
    • 2" Cumulative spine split. Cover detached. Water damage.
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout. Graded by MCS, not consignor.
      Other items consigned by humble cow

    Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Dick Wood, Norman Maurer, Sam Burlockoff, Dick Briefer, Jack Alderman, Bob Wood and Charles Biro. The title that launched the crime comics genre, Crime Does Not Pay was noted for its violent pre-Code content and lurid tales of underworld life. Early gangster Kid Dropper helps create New York's Prohibition underworld, but doesn't live to see it prosper. Irish-American mob boss and prohibition-era bootlegger Roger Touhy gets set up for a crime he actually didn't commit. Wild Bill Longley was considered one of the deadliest and most ruthless gunfighters in the Old West. Crime Kings: Kid Dropper; Touhy Mob Captured; Wanted: Husband Who Wont Object to Being Murdered; Mad Murders in Minnesota; Hex Horror; Dodging Death with Big Bill Longley; Whodunnit? The Catnip Club Murder. 60 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

  • Issue #29
    Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) 29
    • 3.5" Cumulative spine split. Centerfold detached. Water damage.
    • Paper: Off white
    • Centerfold Detached.
    • Label #0285779003
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout.
    • Centerfold coming loose at single center staple. Miswrap/cut.
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout. Graded by MCS, not consignor.
      Other items consigned by humble cow
    • INCOMPLETE. Missing first and center wrap (affects "The Count of Gramercy Park", "This'll Kill You" and text stories). 7" Cumulative spine split with splitting tp interior wraps. Cover detached at single center staple.
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout. Graded by MCS, not consignor.
      Other items consigned by humble cow

    Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Dick Wood, Norman Maurer, Dick Briefer, Alan Mandel, Bob Wood, Jack Alderman and Charles Biro. The title that launched the crime comics genre, Crime Does Not Pay was noted for its violent pre-Code content and lurid tales of underworld life. The unkillable Michael Malloy survives multiple murder attempts. "Two Gun" Crowley's 1931 shootout with police becomes national news and helps create the image of the Prohibition-era gangster. Gunfighter Luke Short survives numerous gunfights and finances some of the best-known saloons in the Old West. Crime Kings: The Phantom of Fort Wayne; The Poison Dove; Two-Gun Crowley; The Count of Gramercy Park; The Killer Who Died Laughing; Thisll Kill You; Little Luke Short; The Corpse That Would Not Stay Dead!; Whodunnit? Be a Detective. 60 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

  • Issue #30
    Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) 30
    • Paper: Off white to white
    • Label #0285779004
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout.
    • Cover coming loose at single center staple. Water damage.
    • Consignment. 3% buyer's premium charged at checkout. Graded by MCS, not consignor.
      Other items consigned by humble cow

    Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Carmine Infantino, Dick Wood, R. W. Hall, Dick Briefer, Milton Kramer, Bob Wood, Jack Alderman and Charles Biro. The title that launched the crime comics genre, Crime Does Not Pay was noted for its violent pre-Code content and lurid tales of underworld life. The Eastman Gang becomes the ruling underworld organization in New York in the period between the 1890s and the 1910s. A killer's shoes identify him among Texans' cowboy boots, in a story with early art by comics legend Carmine Infantino. Crime Does Not Pay editors Charles Biro and Bob Wood investigate a murder and find the trail leads right back to their own office, in a whimsical whodunit with art by Dick Briefer. Crime Kings: The True Story of Monk Eastman; The Killer the Law Couldn't Kill; The Texas Terrors; Mirthful Murder and the Crazy Killers; The Praying Corpse; Sing Sing Prison Break; Crime Close-Ups; The Patent Leather Killer!; Whodunnit? Be a Detective. 60 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.