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Crime and Punishment #3 cover
Cover: Charles Biro
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Crime and Punishment #3

Jun 1948 · Lev Gleason [1930s-1950s] · 0.10 USD
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In "Emil (the Terrible) Reck," Leonard Starr’s stark art brings to life the tragic downfall of Lesley Ketchell, a man from Gary, Indiana, whose belief that the world was rigged against him leads him down a path of gambling and self-destruction. As his drinking spirals and his marriage crumbles, Ketchell’s choices catch up with him in ways he never expected—ending in jail, not from a crime, but from the debt of his own recklessness. The story, illustrated with gritty precision by Starr and presented on a cover by Charles Biro, captures the bleak realism of a man undone by his own defiance.

Contains 5 stories
Emil (the Terrible) Reck
14 pp · Crime
Emil Reck
Joe Bologna
8 pp · Crime

Joe Bologna, a small-time extortionist operating a protection racket called the Knights of Kindness, muscles his way through Brooklyn's neighborhoods collecting dues and "initiations" with brutality. When his gang turns to armed robbery to climb the criminal ladder, they leave a trail of violence that catches the attention of the police—and sets them on a collision course with the law. Watch as their reckless ambitions and lack of discipline unravel their operation from the inside.

Lesley Ketchell
5 pp · Crime
Lesley Ketchell (turns to crime)Tom Duffy (policeman)George O'Reilly (policeman)Murtaugh (villain, gambler)

Lesley Ketchell’s story in *Crime and Punishment* #3 (1948) follows a man who, after years of feeling cheated by life, bets everything on a quick fix—turning to gambling to outwit a world he sees as rigged. But when his desperation spirals into drinking and debt, his choices begin to unravel everything he’s built.

Frank Budnik and John Baker
8 pp · Crime
Bertha Gifford Killer of 19 People!
5 pp · Crime

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta
Raw (Good) $34
CGC 9.4 · 1 in census $1,022*
CGC 9.2 · 1 in census $656*
CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $455*
CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $346
CGC 8.0 · 5 in census $249
CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $203
Show all 14 grades
CGC 7.0 · 1 in census $166*
CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $139*
CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $121*
CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $101*
CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $96*
CGC 4.5 none in existence
CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $71*
CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $64*
* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade
Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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Full credits

artist, inker Leonard Starr
cover pencils Charles Biro

Reprints

Reprinted in Crime and Punishment #3 (1948)

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