It's Christmas Crime! DYNAMIC COMICS "Manhunters: Frozen Corpses for Christmas" & JUSTICE COMICS "Murder for Christmas"

Here's a true tale of cold-hearted killing at Christmastime...

...that was told twice in graphic form in tales only a year apart!

Both the writer and artist(s) for this never-reprinted tale from Superior's Dynamic Comics #21 (1947) are unknown to this day.

A year later, penciler Gene Colan and inker Sy Grudko retold the story in Atlas' Justice Comics #4 (1948)!

This wasn't exactly a "hot off the presses" story...even in the 1940s.

The murders had occurred in 1899!

Maclean's, the Time Magazine of Canada had run the story as the premiere entry of a new historical series about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (aka "Mounties") in 1930, renewing public interest in the murders!
Here's a LINK to that issue!
It's likely the editors and/or writers of both comics came across the story while researching potential plotlines for their true-crime comics!
Bonus: here's a LINK to a recent article with a lot more info that wasn't available to the writer of the 1930 story!

Halloween Horrors FERO: PLANET DETECTIVE "and the Vampires and Werewolves from Pluto!"

Welcome to the only blog that offers you the truth about a major threat to humanity!

We thought this is now the right time to reveal the awesome secret about vampires and werewolves kept from humanity for centuries!

They're from Pluto!

Really!

While Fero did return in the next issue of Planet Comics, the "vampires and werewolves from Pluto" plotline didn't!

In fact, Fero was, without explanation, now an "interplanetary detective" in a future version of New York City, and stayed there for the remainder of his four-issue run.
This premiere appearance in Fiction House's Planet Comics #5 (1940) is credited to "Allison Brant", a pseudonym used by writer/artist Al Bryant who did almost 400 stories during his decade-long career.

Please Support Crime and Punishment

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Grimm Fairy Tales presents Vampires and Werewolves

Halloween Horrors KEN SHANNON "Vampire Mob"

It's Halloween season, so let's present a scary private eye story...

...from the 1950s, the era when horror comics were all the rage!

Ken Shannon started in 1950 when Police Comics dropped all their superheroes (including Plastic Man and The Spirit) in favor of crime stories.

Beginning with #103, Ken took the cover and lead story slot until #126.
Simultaneously, Ken received his own title, which ran for 10 issues.
As you can see from the story, Ken was the typical hard-boiled private dick with an internal monologue, obviously patterned after already-popular detectives like Sam Spade and Mike Hammer.
His only distinctive characteristic was that he was of Irish descent.
(In fact, his premiere tale was called "The Mad Irishman"!)
The art for almost all his tales (including this one) was by Reed Crandall, one of the best illustrators in the business who went on to become one of the mainstays of EC Comics, handling horror, war, romance and sci-fi with equal panache.

Justice for Asians ALL-TRUE CRIME "Tong War!"

Non "big-name" Asians and Asian-Americans (like Fu Manchu)...

....were rarely featured in crime comics, the way the Italian Mafia, Irish Westies, or other ethnically-based criminal groups were!

Writer Carl Wessler and artist Jack Keller played on numerous, already outdated, racist cliches about Chinese in America in this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' All-True Crime #51 (1952), including speech patterns, clothing, and methods, indicating that the Tong members shown were immigrants, not native-born Asian-Americans!

Unfortunately, all the Chinese shown are given the bright lemon-yellow skin coloring common in comics of the era to denote Asians.

(Note: The non-Tong Chinese are shown in contemporary American clothing and speak impeccable English.)

BTW, though this is listed as issue #51, this is the first issue of this title.

Before this, the book was titled All-True Crime Cases Comics.

Shortening the title didn't help.

The book's run ended with the next issue!

Please Support Crime and Punishment

Visit Amazon and Order...

Tongs, Gangs, and Triads

Chinese Crime Groups in North America

LOVE MYSTERY "Death Take All!" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Hero and Heroine......

Sports reporter Don Black becomes romantically-involved with Norma Brisbey, whose father owns Buckeye, the odds-on favorite to win in the $100,000 Gold Cup Horse Race.

But threats to both the owner and Spider, the horse's jockey, and an attempt on Mr Brisbey's life convince Black there's a conspiracy to rig the race.

Returning home from visiting her father in the hospital, Norma sees someone lurking outside the house, and Don goes to investigate...

This tale of love and legal matters from Fawcett's Love Mystery #3 (1950) was illustrated by Bob Powell, an ideal choice since he was expert at both romance and crime tales!

The scripter is unknown.

Fawcett tried things no one else would attempt including this title and Negro Romance, hoping to find untapped markets.

Unfortunately, in both cases, the audience never materialized, and both books were cancelled after only three issues.

LOVE MYSTERY "Death Take All!" Part 1

Crime has been combined with many genres in comics...

...like westerns, war, sci-fi...even horror and the supernatural!

But only once did comics combine mystery with romance, in the appropriately-named Love Mystery!

Who's lurking outside?

Be here next week for the thrilling conclusion!

This tale of love and legal matters from Fawcett's Love Mystery #3 (1950) was illustrated by Bob Powell, an ideal choice since he was expert at both romance and crime tales!

The scripter is unknown.

Fawcett tried things no one else would attempt including this title and Negro Romance, hoping to find untapped markets.

Unfortunately, in both cases, the audience never materialized, and both books were cancelled after only three issues.