Underworld Crime (1952) comic books 1953

Stories and art by Doug Wildey, Maurice Gutwirth and Stephen Kirkel. Classic pre-Code crime comics from Fawcett. Bo and Frankie start up a "floating crap game" using loaded dice, but when someone finds out, the guns start blazing. A mobster sees a profit in human trafficking on the Rio Grande, in a story with art by comics legend Doug Wildey. Crimelord Monk Gorman starts a deadly racket by poaching game in the forest preserve, but pushes his luck too far when he starts a forest fire. Dead Weight; Loaded Dice; Dopey Danny Dee; River of Blood; Tightwad Tad; The Game Butchers. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Stories and art by Steve Kirkel and others. Classic pre-Code crime comics from Fawcett. Wealthy socialite and jewelry dealer Wayne is a member of high society, but no one suspects he's also a fence for illegal goods and a powerful figure in the underworld. The Harvey brothers tire of truck hijacking, and Al Harvey learned to fly solo during the war, so they begin stealing cargo planes right off the runway. When he recognizes fugitive bank robber Slats Pawling, law-abiding citizen Tom must deal with the consequences of reporting him to the police. Enough Rope; The Fence; Nervous Jervis; Pert Pamela; The Sky Pirates; Sykes the Psychiatrist; Quiz; Gangland Vengeance. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Stories and art by Bill Woolfolk and Jess Cole. Classic pre-Code crime comics from Fawcett. Police are unable to topple the masked and mysterious Black Hand gang, but lone citizen John Stephens wages a one-man campaign of vengeance to bring them down. Ace and Killer agree to take the rap for a warehouse job in exchange for a cash payoff, but a cop goes undercover in prison to see if he can get Killer to crack. Moonshiner Poison Mike has souped-up the roadster he uses to escape the Feds on winding mountain roads, to deadly effect. Cover, possibly by Edd Ashe, contains elements of bondage and the ol' injury-to-the-eye motif. Two Bullet Holes; The Man Who Broke The Black Hand; Muscle Hedd; Careless Clara; Trapped!; Surgeon Sturgess; Important Man Manners; The Saga of "Poison" Mike McCroy. Final issue of the series. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.