Auctions: comic books published by Lev Gleason

Crime and Punishment (1948 Lev Gleason) 2 CGC 5.5

Paper: Off white

Label #4282635020

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Bob Fujitani, Fred Guardineer, Frank Bolle, George Tuska, Mike Roy, John Belfi and Charles Biro. A companion series to Crime Does Not Pay from the same publisher, slightly less violent and with more emphasis on police work. Neal Bowman sees himself as a modern-day outlaw, robbing gas stations to get his name in the papers. Francis Boyd and David Reagan manage to elude the cops until a final shoot-out, featuring a killer with the wildest haircut since Dick Tracy's Flattop. Professor Blanc is actually a woman-killer known as the Plague of Paris, in an oft-reprinted story with art by Fred Guardineer. The cover illustration, with a thief stealing from a blind newsdealer, may have been referenced in the classic anti-comics tome Seduction of the Innocent. Buck Kelly "The Tough Guy"; Hot-Headed Francis Boyd and His Pal; Joe Kratz "the Terrible"; The Trusted Killer; Neal Bowman; Plague of Paris. 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) 51 VG 4.0 (R)

Restored (see item notes)

RESTORATION. Color touch. Tape on interior cover.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Fred Guardineer, George Tuska, Lee Teaford 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. Criminal brothers Bud and Don Hoover have a lifelong feud that escalates into murder. The story of notorious real-life gunman Pretty Boy Floyd. Bloodshed results when neighborhood laundries fight back against Johnny Spanish's protection racket. The Hoover Brothers; Pretty Boy Floyd The Two-Faced Terror; Killers' Jinx; Washed in Blood; The Telltale Scar; Whodunnit. 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955 Lev Gleason) 147 VG- 3.5

.5" Spine split from bottom.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Joe Kubert, Bob Powell, Tony Di Preta, Pete Morisi 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. A lost shoe on the highway leads police to a murder, and other clues provide the killer, in a story featuring early art by comics legend Joe Kubert. The lingering scent of perfume gives away the killer of a garage mechanic. The town bookie murders the town clerk, apparently, but detectives feel something doesn't add up. Hitchhike to Doom; A Million Is Too Much; The Clue of the Perfumed Bandit!; Oddly Enough; In Deep; Mighty Rookie; Lev Gleason's Quiz Time. Final issue of the series, after 13 years and at least three different content "codes." 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.