Crime Does Not Pay! (Except In Comics)

And here’s another hit, Barry Bonds!

 

 

My latest article for ComicsAlliance is up today, so click on over and check out a brief history of crime comics from the heyday of the Golden Age to the Marvel’s recent line of noir-inspired takes on heroes like Daredevil and the Punisher who, what with all the crooked boxing and revenge killings, apparently weren’t noir enough already.

One of the fun things about putting these galleries together is that when I occasionally deign to do research, I’ll often find out something really interesting. This time around, it was Justice Traps the Guilty, which I was only vaguely aware of until Kevin was able to hook me up with a bit. Of course, like it says in the article, it didn’t really come as a shock that Simon and Kirby did crime comics. After all, they did pretty much everything else.

Anyway, enjoy the read, and if you’ve got a favorite crime comic, leave a comment at ComicsAlliance!

11 thoughts on “Crime Does Not Pay! (Except In Comics)

  1. Why is the victim wearing a hat at his own dinner table?

    This looks like a case for…. Encyclopedia Brown!!

  2. PS

    Reading a copy of Justice Traps the Guilty is a sure way to get kicked off jury duty.

  3. Critics rave to the release of Chris Sims’ most recent installment of

    COMICS BLOGGING’S MOST OBSCURE KANYE REFERENCES

    S.R.S.L.Y., I didn’t think anyone but me remembered that song happened.

  4. I do wonder about the conversation with the florist. “What kind of arrangement really, really says, you know, ‘I’m going to shoot you?’ Tulips? Really? What color? Well, he IS wearing a lavender shirt.”

  5. The draping effects are so excessive, even the dudes’ FACES drape. It’s like murder at the rubber mask factory. Poor ol’ squealer died while testing the latest Ronald Reagan.

    Acme Novelty Masks – 12 days since last accident!

    Uh, scratch that. Orders from the top.

  6. @ bookrats: Back then everybody wore hats, all the time. They also said things like “drop up to see you.”

  7. Like Jonah Hex.

    PS Hunter by Cooke and Westlake just blew me away. That’s what Will Eisner meant when he coined the term “graphic novel”: the balance between images and text are perfect, and the way they carry the story is inspired.