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Crime Does Not Pay Archives #5
Crime Does Not Pay Archives Volume 5
Deadly dames and streetwise mugs populate the pages of Crime Does Not Pay, the 1940s true-crime comic that was a hit with millions of readers, but a scandal for the guardians of public decency. Issues #38-41 of this controversial series, in which each mobster's reign of mayhem ended behind bars or in the "hot seat," are collected into one hard-hitting hardcover with a new foreword by comics journalist Paul Gravett (Comics International)!
216 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 11, 2026
Nice reprint of the 1950s comics. Recommended
September 24, 2023
The quality of the stories and artwork have rebounded nicely after the dullness that was Volume 4. The gist of this series is that it is a “true crime” anthology style that depicts crime from different eras and countries, with an emphasis on crime of the 1920s and 1930s.
Mister Crime is the host, and he is essentially the devil on the shoulder of these would be criminals as they embark on their life of crime. In #41 we see his counterpoint, the “angel on the shoulder” of the criminal, Officer Common Sense. Neither one of them are visible to the characters and they break the fourth wall in regard to the fact that they are speaking to the reader.
While this series was lurid for the time, in all fairness they do not glorify crime. The criminal is always shown getting killed by police, sitting in an electric chair, or ending up in prison. There is an over the top, sensationalist angle played up for kicks, though.
The Dick Briefer Who Dunnit? recurring strip has run out of steam. I was thankful to see Robert Q. Sale take it over in #40. Issue #39's King Killer Of The Mountain is one of the better tales in this book. The quality increases across the board with #41, and I am looking forward to reading Volume 6. I know from reading Blackjacked And Pistol-Whipped: A Crime Does Not Pay Sampler that the series' best days are ahead of it.
Sadly, Dark Horse pulled the plug on this line after Volume 10. They cancelled the already fully restored and ready to go Volume 11 as well as the already solicited Volume 12. Dark Horse has recently revived their Creepy and Eerie Archives, so I am hopeful that they will revive this line of books as well. I have no interest in the Gwandanaland print on demand books found on Amazon which complete the run. Dark Horse could even up the price $10-15 to make up for the low print run if that is what it would take to finish up this line of books.
Mister Crime is the host, and he is essentially the devil on the shoulder of these would be criminals as they embark on their life of crime. In #41 we see his counterpoint, the “angel on the shoulder” of the criminal, Officer Common Sense. Neither one of them are visible to the characters and they break the fourth wall in regard to the fact that they are speaking to the reader.
While this series was lurid for the time, in all fairness they do not glorify crime. The criminal is always shown getting killed by police, sitting in an electric chair, or ending up in prison. There is an over the top, sensationalist angle played up for kicks, though.
The Dick Briefer Who Dunnit? recurring strip has run out of steam. I was thankful to see Robert Q. Sale take it over in #40. Issue #39's King Killer Of The Mountain is one of the better tales in this book. The quality increases across the board with #41, and I am looking forward to reading Volume 6. I know from reading Blackjacked And Pistol-Whipped: A Crime Does Not Pay Sampler that the series' best days are ahead of it.
Sadly, Dark Horse pulled the plug on this line after Volume 10. They cancelled the already fully restored and ready to go Volume 11 as well as the already solicited Volume 12. Dark Horse has recently revived their Creepy and Eerie Archives, so I am hopeful that they will revive this line of books as well. I have no interest in the Gwandanaland print on demand books found on Amazon which complete the run. Dark Horse could even up the price $10-15 to make up for the low print run if that is what it would take to finish up this line of books.
September 23, 2023
This is the volume where the stories really start to pick up, tbh--except the Whodunnit series, which loses Dick Briefer and all semblance of professionalism.
June 17, 2014
Not much to say other than it's as strong as the other volumes with the stories and art getting a little bit tighter which each volume. These reprints are a hell of a lot of fun and still surprising when you see a guy killing a baby. A BABY!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews