Crime Does Not Pay (Canadian 1948 Superior) comic books

Add to cart VG 4.0 $29.00 View scan

Canadian Edition. Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Fred Guardineer, Claude Moore, Tony DiPreta, 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. Mr. Crime narrates the tale of Clarence Reese, who wants to be like the famous gangsters he idolizes. Police investigate a shooting at a circus full of suspects, in a whodunit featuring the line "Who'd have believed that Waldo, the mind-reading midget, would turn out to be a blackmailer?" Killer Wilbur Stiles is undone by his well-known addiction to watching college basketball. Cover and first page feature a photo endorsement from police Captain Felix Lynch, approving of "this magazine as a good reading for red-blooded American youngsters." This endorsement was later cited (negatively) in the text of the classic anti-comics tome Seduction of the Innocent. Clarence Reese the Hero-Worshipper; Wilbur Stiles; Laff It Off; This'll Kill Ya!; On The Level; The Case of the Kidnapper's Pigeon; Who Dunnit. 48 pages, Full Color. 10¢ cover price. Cover price $0.10.

Add to cart VG 4.0 $23.00 View scan

Canadian Edition. Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by George Tuska, Fred Guardineer, Claude Moore, Tony DiPreta, 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. Mr. Crime narrates the tale of Mac Royce, who ran a mob of bootleggers from his grocery store. After their accomplice is killed, two young aspiring criminals are outsmarted by an elderly watchman. A small-town sheriff captures two hoodlums on the run from the big city. Cover and first page feature endorsements from police Captain Felix Lynch and Mary Sullivan, NYPD Women's Bureau Chief, approving of "this magazine as a good reading for red-blooded American youngsters." Mac Royce; Science vs. the Criminal; "Spots" Norton and the Brand Brothers; Police Detection Quiz; On The Level; Our Police Hall of Fame; Sheriff Ted Benton; Who Dunnit. 48 pages, Full Color, 10¢ cover price. Cover price $0.10.