War Against Crime! #5

(February-March 1949)

[If You Can Whistle] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Hopkinson Harmonica Co. / comics-form advertising / 1 page (report information)

Little Miss Mob Marker (Table of Contents: 2)

comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig ?

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Colors

?

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Betty Zalman was a counter-girl in a city five-and-dime store.

Genre

crime

Characters

Policemen [Bill; other unnamed]; Betty Zalman [aka Mob Marker; Miss Swenley] (villain, death); Happy Gordon (villain, racketeer); Marker's Gang (villains, some die)

Synopsis

Betty was a drugstore counter girl who was not content with an easy, slow life. She wanted things and wanted them now, so she resorted to using a gun and hopped up gunmen to get them for her. Her first target was found at the Fifty-Four Club and she was then on a roll of crime and murder, teaming up with racketeer, Happy Gordon. Having banked most of her loot, Betty wants to retire, but fears Gordon will not allow it, so she decides to betray Gordon to the law. Wounded, Gordon decides on payback.....and gets his revenge.

Reprints

• in War Against Crime (Russ Cochran, 1993 series) #1 [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in War Against Crime (Gemstone, 2000 series) #5 (August 2000)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #25 - The Woman Who Loved Life and Other Stories (October 2019) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Keywords

Fifty-Four Club

Indexer Notes

Thommy Burns, in his hardcover October 2019 volume "The Woman Who Loved Life and Other Stories", published by Fantagraphics Books, mentions that by this time in Craig's career, Craig was scripting almost all the stuff he was illustrating.

Script credit by Thommy Burns, added by Craig Delich.

Curse of the Pharaoh (Table of Contents: 3)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Colors

?

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Through the pages of history, men spoke of the famed...

Genre

crime

Characters

Metropolis Museum guards [Bill; Johnson; Brown; Kelly]; Jim (museum detective); Towne (museum curator); Mr. Daly (detective); Tut-Ma (Pharaoh of Egypt, image only); Fingers Sharp (villain, jewel thief, death)

Synopsis

A fabulous emerald scarab, once the property of the Pharaoh of Egypt and worth a million dollars, is on display at the Metropolis Museum. The museum's detective, however, is worried as a noted jewel thief has been casing the museum. The thief soon steals it, but the scarab he stole soon reveals his location, and he dies at the hands of a detective.

Reprints

• in War Against Crime (Russ Cochran, 1993 series) #1 [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in War Against Crime (Gemstone, 2000 series) #5 (August 2000)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #23 - Doctor of Horror and Other Stories (December 2018) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Keywords

Egypt; Metropolis Museum

Sure-Fire Winners! (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Three Time Loser (Table of Contents: 5)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Jim Shank was a three-time loser.

Genre

crime

Characters

Jim Shank; Fred Drogg; Red Sampson; unnamed police officer

Synopsis

Jim Shank was a pretty good safecracker, however his look-outs were not good at their tasks.

Reprints

• in War Against Crime (Russ Cochran, 1993 series) #1
• in War Against Crime (Gemstone, 2000 series) #5 (August 2000)

The Law's Revenge! (Table of Contents: 6)

comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein

Inks

Al Feldstein

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Yes, Charles Hanley, this is it!.. Your last mile!

Genre

crime

Characters

Charles Hanley; Frank Binder; landlady; gas station attendant; two motorcycle policemen; Ralph Duncan; Mrs. Duncan; detective Walker; police chief; Barkley; watchman; judge

Synopsis

Hanley is on the run, wanted for a robbery and murder. He fakes his death by killing another man, swapping identification cards and assuming the identity of Ralph Duncan.

Reprints

• in War Against Crime (Russ Cochran, 1993 series) #1 [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in War Against Crime (Gemstone, 2000 series) #5 (August 2000)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #28 - Terror Train and Other Stories (October 2020) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Indexer Notes

Writer's credit given in "Al Feldstein: The Mad Life ..." (2013)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Most Amazingly Convenient Pocket Lighter (Table of Contents: 8) (Expand) /

Henry Senne and Company / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[The Most Amazing Factory-To-You Introductory Offer] (Table of Contents: 9) (Expand) /

M. P. K. Company / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

And to Think They Used to Call Me Skinny! (Table of Contents: 10) (Expand) /

Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension System / advertisement / 1 page (report information)