Comic books in 'Convict', graded by CBCS

WRITTEN BY BRIAN AZZARELLO; ART BY EDUARDO RISSO; PAINTED COVER BY DAVE JOHNSON In stores March 5. "Chill in the Oven" Part 1. Loop Hughes (last seen in the Eisner Award-winning story arc "Hang Up on the Hang Low") has been doing time in prison for murder. Sure, it was self-defense, but when all you can afford is a court-appointed mouthpiece, that argument tends to fall on deaf ears right before the judge kicks you up the river. Forced to learn the ins and outs of prison politics ? where a sideways glance can get you a shiv in the back ? it's all Loop can do to keep his bones from being broken ? never mind his spirit. MATURE READERS FC, 32 PG. Cover price $2.50.

Cover pencils by Jack Kirby. The Unholy Dreams of Gentleman Jack, script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Simon; Hounded by dreams of the Sandman, when Gentleman Jack Jarvis is released from prison he swears that he will one day live in a suite of cells, come and go as he pleases with guards waiting on him hand and foot......but the Sandman will suffer in a solitary cell and made to die slowly! The Constellations of Crime! starring Starman, script by Gardner F. Fox, art by Emil Gershwin. The Scrap For Scrap starring The Shining Knight, script by Joe Samachson, art by Louis Cazeneuve. Way Down Yonder in the Corn Field starring Genius Jones, script by Alfred Bester, art by Stan Kaye. The Mystery of the Monster Bird starring Manhunter, script by Jack Kirby, art by Pierce Rice. The School For Heroes starring Mike Gibbs, Guerilla, script by Joe Samachson, art by Irving Tirman. 68 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Sheldon Moldoff. Lex Luthor and Clark Kent: Cell-Mates!, script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein; Lex Luthor frames Clark Kent after Clark's father, as a member of the parole board, refuses to parole Luthor. Clark ends up having to share a cell with Luthor. The Secret Origin of Bouncing Boy--Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes, script by Jerry Siegel, art by John Forte; Bouncing Boy tells a group of applicants how he got his powers and gained acceptance into the Legion. 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.12.

To execute a daring escape, Captain Jack must dress in drag. Also, the backup story Love and Bananas. Stories, art and cover by Mike Kazaleh. Black and white; 32 pages. Mature readers. Cover price $2.00.

Written by Bob Oksner. Art by Bob Oksner & Graham Place. Cover by Bob Oksner. Jerry has money problems in a 3-part untitled tale! Plus: "Teens Through the Ages" 1-pager by Mort Drucker. And: Teen Beat untitled 1-pager by Drucker. 32 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by L. B. Cole. Pre-Code crime comics from L. B. Cole's Star Publications. Prison guards try to figure out how a condemned killer has become overcome with remorse. The saga of Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, from "Public Enemy #1" to longtime Alcatraz inmate. Police seek a serial killer who marks his victims with a circle in lipstick, in a case eerily reminiscent of the Zodiac murders (which happened decades later). This story and issue was referenced in both the text and illustration #32 of the anti-comics classic Seduction of the Innocent. Crime of Conscience; The Forger; The Planted Clue; Madman of Murder; Robbery with Interest; The Case of the Crimson Killer. 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Matt Baker. Stories and art by Gene Colan, Matt Baker, and Enrico Bagnoli. Remaindered St. John pre-Code crime comics, collected into a squarebound anthology. This issue features Authentic Police Cases (1948) #16 and #17, and Fugitives from Justice (1952) #1. Believing that "juvenile delinquency must be stamped out!" patrolman Bob goes undercover in the city's teen gangs, in a story with early art by future Marvel legend Gene Colan. Crooked contractors commit murder after murder to conceal the truth about the sub-standard houses they're selling to veterans, in a story with art by good-girl art legend Matt Baker. Blonde bad girl Millie has a scheme to get her hands on the money from the bank job, even if it means turning her companions against each other, in the sort of story that a young Frank Miller's parents might have read to him at bedtime. Cover by Baker. Mystery Man of the Death House; The Moll Who Gambled on Murder; Teen-age Gangs Tangle With Cops!; Cover Up For Murder; Hit-and-Run Killer!; The Killer Who Played CORPSE; The Trigger-Squeeze Trap; Five-Alarm Torch!; 9,000 Miles to the Noose!; Daily Doubles Death Trap; The Angel Mob; Blackmail Photography; . Other variants exist. 100 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Written by Carl Wessler and unknown. Art by Jay Scott Pike, Sol Brodsky, Ed Moore, Larry Lieber, John Romita, Sr., Les Zakarin and unknown. True cases proving crime can't win! All cases from official records! In this issue: "Shanghaied" with story by Carl Wessler and pencils by Jay Scott Pike; the men who live with death in "Arson Squad" with art by Sol Brodsky; "Murder in the Bighouse" is as shocking as today's headlines, with art by Ed Moore; the strangest crime in the world in "It Happened in Prussia"; 2-page text story "The Talking Corpse"; "Cop on the Beat" with art by Larry Lieber; and "Ace Renard, King of the Bookies" with art by John Romita, Sr. and Les Zakarin. 48 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Written by Carl Wessler and unknown. Art by Jerry Robinson, Jack Keller, Dan Loprino and unknown. True cases proving crime can't win! All authenticated all-true crimes! The most terrifying words an escaped con can hear..."Shoot To Kill" with art by Jerry Robinson. Also in this issue: "The Men Who Beat the Rap" with story by Carl Wessler; 2-page text story "The Crying Corpse"; "Stoolies Die Young" by Wessler and Jack Keller; and "The Killer Who Left No Clues" by Wessler and Dan Loprino. 32 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover pencils by Sol Brodsky. Written by Carl Wessler and unknown. Art by Jack Keller, Marion Sitton, Dan Loprino and George Tuska. True cases proving crime can't win! All authenticated all-true crimes! In this issue: "Tong War" by Carl Wessler and Jack Keller; "Ten Days to Live" with art by Marion Sitton; "Panic In the Big House" with art by Dan Loprino; 2-page text story "Too Perfect"; and "Shake-Down" with art by George Tuska. 32 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Final issue. Cover by Sol Brodsky. Written by Carl Wessler and unknown. Art by Jay Scott Pike, Vernon Henkel, E.J. Smalle and Carl Hubbell. True cases proving crime can't win! In this issue: The rugged, inside story of what really happens during a..."Prison Break" by Carl Wessler and Jay Scott Pike; 2-page text story "The Midnight Chase"; "One of the Gang" with art by Vernon Henkel; "Manhunter" with art by E.J. Smalle; and "Secret Agent" by Wessler and Carl Hubbell. 32 pages, full color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by L. B. Cole. Pre-Code crime comics from L. B. Cole's Star Publications. Ex-movie star actor and makeup expert The Great Arno escapes an asylum and promises revenge against the six men who had him committed, Dr. Phibes-style. Gangster Bugsy Siegel gets rubbed out after making Las Vegas into a world-famous Sin City. The reader gets a chance to follow the clues and find the killer of horse trainer before detective Dan Diamond does. The Mask of Murder!!; The Curse of Violence; The Crime That Wrought It's Own Punishment!!!; Killers' Revenge; The Wicked Killer!; Who Was the Killer?? 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

True life crime stories from the case files of Crime Investigators. "Jailbreak!" Art by Al Hartley. "Deadly Impersonation!" This story was hand-picked by the editot as the most amazing case of the year. "Killer at Large!" Art by Jack Keller. Cover price $0.10.

"Life Imprisonment," "Final Payment" (with art by George Tuska), "The Man Who Came to Murder," and "Needle in a Haystack." Two page text story, "Story of Hate." Cover price $0.10.

"Danny Guild, the Hood From Hell's Kitchen," "The Highway of Doom," "Professor M. Vargas, the Terror of Budapest," and a two-page text story, "Decoy For the Hot Seat." Photo cover. Cover price $0.10.

"A Day in the Life Of" Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by Frank Giacoia and Tony Mortellaro (backgrounds). Cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. The wondrous wall-crawler is on cloud nine after Gwen Stacy's return from London. Gwen wants to resume their life together...and so does Peter in a very big way! But the amazing one needs to boost his bank account first. So the Daily Bugle sends him on an assignment to cover a prison riot at the city jail. Once the web-slinger quells the riot (and takes pictures), he surprisingly bumps into the host of the Tonight Show! Is Spider-Man primed for late night? Cameo appearances by J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Johnny Carson, and Ed McMahon. (Note: This issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales #80.) 32 pages. Cover price $0.15.

Cover by Matt Baker. Stories and art by Edd Ashe, Al Tyler, Bob Forgione and Enrico Bagnoli. Pre-Code crime comics from St. John with an above-average lineup of artists. A comics biography of notorious bank robber Willie Sutton, who supposedly said he robbed banks "because that's where the money is." Also, a short text piece on the forty-year long career of Sutton. Ex-GI McKay, in Paris on the GI Bill, gets involved in a scheme to smuggle stolen diamonds into the US. Cover by good-girl art legend Matt Baker. Willie Suttons Worst Enemy - Himself; Willie Suttons Career in Crime; Diamonds Can Kill! 36 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Matt Baker. Stories and art by Antonio Canale, Enrico Bagnoli, Michael O'Malley¸ Ralph Lane, and André LeBlanc. Pre-Code crime comics from St. John with an above-average lineup of artists. 100-page giant. Art and his gang kidnap the adult daughter of a wealthy Vegas casino owner, but she turns out to be smarter and more formidable than they expected. Private eye Vic Flint investigates a murder, and gets set up as a fall guy for his trouble. Crooks set their sights on a lavish party for millionaires aboard the yacht Sea Nymph. Cover by good-girl art legend Matt Baker. Las Vegas Loot; Lou Erskines One Man War; The Kidnapped Sea Nymph; The Crown Prince of Frisco; Vic Flint: The Case of the Jumping Beans; The Police Always Win; Piracy on Route One; Easy-Money Kid; The Tailor-Made Crime Wave; First Offense; The Body on Demand. 100 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.25.

Stories by Eddie Campbell and Michael Evans. Art by Eddie Campbell, Ed Hillyer and Pete Mullins. Cover by Eddie Campbell and Pete Mullins. The acclaimed series by artist Eddie Campbell, featuring the latter-day adventures of the immortal Greek gods. One Man Show continues, as the Eyeball Kid tries to pull himself up from rock bottom and face his enemies, Hermes and the Telchines. The Away Team; Seeing Straight; High Noon; plus an Alec story and a Montague Hale one-pager. 36 pages, B&W. Mature readers. Cover price $2.95.

Stories by Eddie Campbell and Wes Kublick. Art by Eddie Campbell and Ed Hillyer. Cover by Eddie Campbell and Pete Mullins. The acclaimed series by artist Eddie Campbell, featuring the latter-day adventures of the immortal Greek gods. One Man Show concludes, as the Eyeball Kid reduces the number of his enemies significantly. Potatoes of the Night; All the World´s a Stage; Avenging Angel with Dirty Faces; plus an Alec story and a Montague Hale one-pager. 36 pages, B&W. Mature readers. Cover price $2.95.

WRITTEN BY SCOTT PETERSON; ART BY TIM LEVINS AND TERRY BEATTY; COVER BY BOB SMITH AND BEATTY. Gotham's toughest father-daughter team takes center stage in a special issue starring Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl! Keeping it all in the family, our heroes must track down a pair of criminal siblings who have escaped from jail and are now somewhere in Gotham City. FC, 32 PG." Cover price $1.99.

Criminals, Part 2 of 2. Batman finds his undercover prison search suddenly derailed. The warden's life is now in the inmates' bargaining chip, and the only way the Dark Knight can save him is by allowing himself to be unmasked. Written by Steven Grant, with art and cover by Mike Zeck. Deluxe format. Cover price $1.95.

Everett Raymond Kinstler cover and interior cover. Behind Prison Bars was of the many one-shot crime comics Avon Publications cranked out between 1951 and 1952, this one under Avon's Realistic imprint. Stories include "Murder at Newgate Prison" (pencils by Golden Age Green Lantern creator Martin Nodel, inks by Vincent Alascia); "The Gorilla Killer" (art by Harry Lazarus); "Charlie Lupetti and his Bullet-Proof Gang;" and "Death Trap" (art by Becker - we're not sure who this 'Becker' is - and Alascia). Two one page text stories, "Death by the River" and "The Witnesses." (For other Avon crime one-shots, see Famous Gangsters, Murderous Gangsters, Parole Breakers, Police Line-Up, Prison Break, and Gangsters and Gun Molls.) Cover price $0.10.

Based on the TV and radio show of the same name, Big Town lasted 50 issues. This installment includes the following: "Steve Wilson's Last Deadline!" (Steve saves an actor hired to play him in a TV show); "Mystery of the Invisible Mansion!"; "Convict at Large!"; and "The Big Dance." Scripts John Broom and Frances E. Heron, pencils by Manny Stallman, inks by John Giunta. Cover by Gil Kane and Joe Giella. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Norman Maurer, Carl Wessler and Charles Biro. An anthology title from publisher Lev Gleason and his primary creator, Charles Biro, featuring teen hero Crimebuster and his nemesis Iron Jaw. While in prison, Sniffer and the Deadly Dozen learn where Iron Jaw's loot is stashed. Rocky X discovers the presence of invisible alien scouts on Earth, but a mad scientist has already begun negotiating with them. A con man tries to scam an elderly couple by posing as a doctor. Also featuring a vintage ad for Lev Gleason Comics Picture Trading Cards. Crimebuster: Horselaugh on Iron Jaw; Rocky X: The Invisible Men; Slugger Passes the Test; This'll Gag Ya!; The Fleece. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Norman Maurer, William Overgard and Charles Biro. An anthology title from publisher Lev Gleason and his primary creator, Charles Biro, featuring teen hero Crimebuster and his nemesis Iron Jaw. Sniffer and the Deadly Dozen start a new scam by impersonating a dating service. The Rocketeers return to Earth from Pluto, but on the way Simpy discovers a Soviet space-station and sets out to investigate. Smugglers come up with the unique idea of concealing gems inside a live tiger. Also featuring a vintage ad for Lev Gleason Comics Picture Trading Cards. Crimebuster: Sniffer's Love or Money; Rocky X: Courage in a Sea of Fear; Jest For Laffs; Little Wise Guys: Scarecrow Believes in Signs; Two Hands in a Tiger's Mouth. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger. Stories by Howard Boughner and Art Helfant. Art by Joe Certa, Bud Thompson, Sheldon Moldoff, Art Helfant and Howard Boughner. Superhero action with Freddy Freeman, who gains the same powers as his hero Captain Marvel, better known these days as Shazam. Captain Marvel Jr. encounters escaped convict Shocking McGoon, whose powers (and origin) are similar to those of Spidey's enemy Electro. Stupid criminal Dummer invades an elementary school because he wants to get smart. In the ultimate case of road rage, Big Bad Baxter is so mad that he hijacks a steam locomotive and races it down city streets, knocking cars out of the way. The Human Dynamo; Rubbernose Randolph; Boxcar Benny; Judge Smudge; The Smart Crook; The Seeds of Crime; Riggs Laughs Last; Vita Min; Kanvasback: Roadwork Rhapsody; The Loco Locomotive; Minnie the Maid. 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

"My Son is Different!" (art by Joe Sinnott), "The Man in the Tattered Suit," "The Betrayer," "Easy Money," "The Convicts" (art by Joe Maneely), and a two-page text story, "The Meeting." John Severin cover. Cover price $0.10.

Great Expectations, 1st Printing, Line Drawing Cover. Cited in "Seduction of the Innocent." (HRN 43, 11/47). Cover price $0.10.

Cover art by Gill Fox. The Great Yaho; The Condor must battle a giant golem of the Yaqui Indian tribe. The Brain Bandits starring Space Legion, script and art by Vernon Henkel. The Lightning Murders starring Madam Fatal, script and art by Art Pinajian. The Shark and the Mermazons starring Red Torpedo, script by Henry Kiefer [as Roy Larken], art by Kiefer. Bringing Down Rocco Flint starring Alias the Spider, script and art by Paul Gustavson. The Volcano Crooks starring Lee Preston of the Red Cross, art by Nick Cardy. Untitled Lena Pry story, script by Monte Barret, art by Russell E. Ross. Ray of Death starring Wizard Wells, script by Harry Francis Campbell. Robbers From Hades, script and art by George E. Brenner; The Devil's "Robbers From Hades" inject their victims with a treatment that generates unbearable heat, and even kidnaps O'Brien. 68 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Frank Thomas. Stories and art by Bill Holman, Al McWilliams, Bill Connor, William Treadwell, Bill Ely, Frank Thomas, Gaylord Du Bois, John Hampton, Frank V. Martinek, Leon A. Beroth, Al Micale, Jim Chambers, and Robert Brice. Crackajack Funnies presented reprints of classic comic strips alongside original features like The Owl. When escaped convict Tuffy Hulks puts the Chief of Police in the hospital, The Owl takes it personally, and he's never been angrier. Stratosphere Jim discovers an enemy vessel disguised as a fishing boat making attacks on American ships. In a macabre Ellery Queen mystery, a killer hides his victim inside a Central Park snowman. Ellery Queen; Smokey Stover; Bob and Bill; Cyclone; One Man Invasion; The Owl; Clyde Beatty; The Crusoes; Stratosphere Jim; Don Winslow of the Navy. 64 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Bob Fujitani, Al Borth, C.H. Moore, Fred Guardineer 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. Schnoz "The Fix" Kulaski gains a reputation as the man who can fix any game in American sports. A circus trick-shot star becomes a booze-runner because he can't resist the lure of easy money. A parole-jumping killer proves no match for the experience of a retiring cop. Schnoz (The Fix) Kulaski; On the Level; "Dead-Eye" Slade; This'll Kill Ya!; Everett Duane; Our Police Hall of Fame; Laugh These Off!; Rod Williams. 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Bob Fujitani, Al Borth, C.H. Moore, Fred Guardineer 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. The Hunger Brothers start as stick-up men on the Cherokee Strip, and soon become the objects of a Midwestern manhunt. Zoot suit-wearing, bow-tied, tommygun-carrying Keno Rawson is a bank robber and a killer, but at least he looks sharp. A cop goes undercover in prison to learn that the Nash and Waters gang have buried their loot in a local cemetery. Also featuring a vintage ad for the Buck Rogers Sonic Ray gun. Mac Hunger and His Brother, Gil; On the Level; Keno Rawson; This'll Kill Ya!; Dwight Nash and Max Waters; Our Police Hall of Fame; Laugh These Off!; Who Is This Man? 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Reed Crandall, Joseph Gagliardi 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. Cop Alan discovers that his old pal Bruce is the robber his squad is looking for, just as Bruce abducts Alan's love Doris. A retired criminal helps the cops track a gang that's robbing hospitals. Detectives seek acrobatic but otherwise inept thieves, in a story with early art by comics legend Reed Crandall. My Friend Was a Murderer; The Men Who Stole a Brain; On the Level; Stop -- Look -- and Kill!; Our Police Hall of Fame; The Strange Story of the Clumsy Thieves; This'll Kill Ya! 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Dick Rockwell, Carl Wessler, Hal Sherman, Fred Guardineer, 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. An imprisoned killer sets out to dig himself to freedom, but this is no Shawshank Redemption. A tiny jeweled stickpin is the only evidence the cops have to find a couple's killer. A comic that dares the reader to figure out the murder of a loan shark, in a whodunit with multiple clues and an upside-down panel for the answer. Also featuring a vintage ad for Lev Gleason Comics Picture Trading Cards. The Man Who Dug His Own Grave; Murder Plays No Favorites; The Walking Dead Man; Death Was His Only Witness; This'll Kill Ya; The Bullseye Murder Case. 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Vince Fodera. Stories and art by Mickey Spillane, Sam Burlockoff and Les Zakarin. Pre-Code crime comics from Timor, an imprint of Stanley Morse Publications. The debut of private eye Mike Danger is scripted by future hardboiled detective author Mickey Spillane, who used him as a prototype for his later bestselling creation Mike Hammer. Red Kelly, Chief Investigator of the Missing Persons Bureau, takes his first case. Meet Mike Danger, Private Detective!; The Case of the Man Who Wasn't!; The Revolver's Revenge; The Bad Penny!; The Flash Bandit! 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Dan Barry, George Tuska, Fred Guardineer, Bob Moore, Fred Kida, Bob Fujitani, Bert Bushell 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. Escaped convict Clay Fogelman tortures the hapless couple whose home he's using as a hideout. Johnny Socks Lazia rises to be the supreme gang boss in Kansas City of the late 1920s, in a story with early art by future "Flash Gordon" artist Dan Barry. A story that dares the reader to figure out which of four boarders in a boardinghouse killed the owner's beautiful daughter. Also featuring purported letters from mothers of children, approving the content of Crime Does Not Pay comics. Clay Fogelman, Meanest Man of Crime; The Rise and Fall of Johnny "Socks" Lazia, King of the Alky Rackets; On the Level; Killers' Payoff; The Electric Chair and the Murderess; This'll Kill You; Whodunnit: Who Murdered Beautiful Mary Lawson? 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover text quoted in Fredric Wertham's "Seduction of the Innocent". In order of appearance: "Yvonne Ravenal, The Parisian Panther"; "Gladys Behmer Plans Murder"; "Daughter of the Devil, Rosa Harte"; "Gang Leaders, Owney Madden"; "Gang Leaders, Big Bill Lingley and Freddie Muehfeldt" reprinted from Murder Incorporated (1948 1st Series) #3; and "Don Wan". "White-Hot Murder" text story reprinted in Murder Incorporated (1950 2nd Series) #5. 36 pages. Full color. Cover price $0.10.

Fox Feature Syndicate creates a pre-Code title guaranteed to provide lurid covers and art, as women both historical and fictional commit murder and other heinous acts. Clara Dixon uses her skill at the bow and arrow to aid her brother, a corrupt cattle dealer in the Old West; Wanda Bailey is tracked by cops and gangsters alike after she kills a fellow crook and takes a fortune in jewels for herself; Embezzler Myra Teggert gets in a tight spot when her boss's wife thinks she's having an affair with him. Bow-and-Arrow Killer!; Fingers of Death; Poppy in the Jungle; The Imperfect Alibi! 36 pages, Full Color. In order of app: "Bow-and-Arrow Killer!"; "Fingers of Death" reprinted in Vixens, Vamps and Vipers SC (2014 EA Press) Lost Villainesses of Golden Age Comics #1-1ST; and "The Imperfect Alibi of Myra Teggert!!". "Poppy in the Jungle" text story. Cover price $0.10.

Bondage cover. Fox Feature Syndicate creates a pre-Code title guaranteed to provide lurid covers and art, as women both historical and fictional commit murder and other heinous acts. Heroin dealer Annie French raises her son to be her murderous partner in crime, but when the law closes in, it's her or him; Con woman Lina Vanishyn has access to a drug that makes her victims agree to whatever she suggests; Queeny Ames lures unsuspecting soldiers to be beaten and robbed by her gang, but is undone by her desire for fame. Terrific cover by an unknown artist. Shoe Box Annie French and the Vanishing Corpses; Facts About Crime; Female of Fraud!; Mr. Blackburn Should Have Known Better; The Queen of the Killers!; Racketeers' Revenge. 32 pages, Full Color. In order of appearance: "'Shoe Box' Annie French and the Vanishing Corpses" reprinted in Vixens, Vamps and Vipers SC (2014 EA Press) Lost Villainesses of Golden Age Comics #1-1ST; "Facts About Crime" reprinted in Startling Terror Tales (1953-54 2nd Series) #8 and Ms. Trees 1950s Three Dimensional Crime (1987) #1; "Female of Fraud!" retitled and reprinted as "Wicked Cheat..." in Shocking Mystery Cases (1952) #56; "The Queen of the Killers!" retitled and reprinted as "Bloodthirsty..." in All Famous Police Cases (1952-54) #14; and "Racketeers' Revenge, The Racket King" reprinted from Famous Crimes (1948) #6 and retitled and reprinted as "Killers' Revenge" in All Famous Police Cases (1952-54) #12. "Mr. Blackburn Should Have Known Better." text story reprinted from Famous Crimes (1948) #8 and retitled and reprinted as "Trial and Execution." in Startling Terror Tales (1952-53 1st Series) #12 and Shocking Mystery Cases (1952) #55. Cover price $0.10.

Fox Feature Syndicate creates a pre-Code title guaranteed to provide lurid covers and art, as women both historical and fictional commit murder and other heinous acts. Tapped-out gambler Michele Durand becomes the pretty face of the Monte Carlo Gang in pre-WWII Europe; Beautiful hitchhiker Jo Ardway robs the men who pick her up, and sometimes she kills them too; Scheming Frankie Barrows makes an escaped embezzler into her personal slave, in perhaps the most lurid and bizarre tale in the entire series. Another action-packed cover by an unknown artist. Michele Durand in Lady of Intrigue; Bull's Eye Beatrice; Jo Ardway: Roadside Murderess; Murder Proceeds: $1.13; Frankie Barrows...Slave Master Unto Death; Minit Mystery. Final issue for three years. 32 pages, Full Color. In order of appearance: "Michele Durand in Lady of Intrigue"; "Bull's Eye Beatrice"; "Jo Ardway, Roadside Murderess" retitled and reprinted as "Roadside Murder..!!" in All Famous Police Cases (1952-54) #14; "Frankie Barrows, Slave Master Unto Death"; and "Minit Mystery" reprinted from Blue Beetle (1939 Fox/Holyoke) #36. "Murder Proceeds: $1.13" text story reprinted from Crimes by Women (1948) #6 and Crime Incorporated (1950) #2. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Charles Biro. Stories and art by Charles Biro, Norman Maurer, Dick Wood, Bob Q. Sale, Carl Hubbell, Bob Montana and Dick Briefer. This early superhero title was one of the comics that made publisher Lev Gleason a major player during the Golden Age. In his final appearance in Daredevil Comics, supervillain The Claw is seemingly killed off, but you know how it is with supervillains. Island natives proclaim Droopy a rain god and curse him with constant rain, in a story by Dick Briefer. Teen inventor Dickie Dean visits the domed city of the future, in a story by Archie creator Bob Montana. Daredevil; Sniffer and the Deadly Dozen; Dickie Dean; Crimebuster and the Collegiate Killer; The Pirate Prince; The Claw. 48 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Hy Fleishman. Stories and art by A.C. Hollingsworth and Dick Beck. A pre-Code horror series that is not as well-known other horror comics, but makes up for it with grue. Deranged mortuary assistant Garth takes liberties with the clientele, in a truly messed-up pre-Code story. Mountain climbers encounter the "Ghosts of Chomolungma" at the peak of Mt. Everest, in a story that was written before (but published after) the May 1953 first ascent of Everest. Burt and Bernice get rid of Bernice's husband, who loves housecats, but their fate has a feline form. For some strange reason, most of the stories in this issue are told in the second person ("you"). Horror of the Mixed Torsos!; The Curse of the Shooting Star!; Girl into Vampire; Ghosts on Chomolungma!; Death While the Cat's Away. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover art by Creig Flessel. Speed Saunders story, art by Creig Flessel. The Air Mail Mystery starring Hope Hazard, art by Alex Lovy. Cosmo story, art by Sven Elven. The Claws of the Dragon: Part 3 starring Bruce Nelson, art by Tom Hickey. Shooting Story text story, script by Capt. E.R. Anthony, art by Creig Flessel. The Wales Case, script by Russell Cole, art by Russell Cole (Alger). Spy story, script by Jerry Siegel, art by Joe Shuster. Bullets In the Dark starring Buck Marshall, art by Homer Fleming. Slam Bradley story, script by Jerry Siegel, art by Jim Bettersworth. 64 pgs. $0.10. Rare. Cover price $0.10.

Cover art by Manny Easson. "The Riddle of the Blind Beggar," script and art by Manny Easson; The Red Bandana robs banks when they have a large amount of cash or valuables, and no one knows where he learns the right time to strike or who he really is. "Flyin' High," script and art by Manny Easson; Soozie skates so fast she ends up on the planet Bazookus. "The Coward" text story by Frank Keith; Dave is considered a coward, but then he encounters two bank robbers. "The Mystery of the Arrow," script and art by Manny Easson; Joe Bazotti escapes prison and in his cell are found a file, an arrow, and some adhesive tape. 68 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.10.

Minotaur Press (W) Greg Rucka (P) Matthew Clark (I) Ray Snyder It's the debut issue of the new hard-boiled crime comic written by Greg Rucka (Whiteout, Queen & Country, Detective Comics) and penciled by Matthew Clark (Wonder Woman, Fuzzy Dice). The Felon's just done five hard years for the State, and now she's back on the street with a simple To-Do List: get haircut; grab a shower; eat a burger; and, oh yeah, nail the SOBs who took her money and left her to take the fall. It's not about right or wrong-it's all about the crime. FC, 32pg $2.95 Cover price $2.95.