Crime and Punishment #42

Charles Biro's cover for this September 1951 issue says it all: a sharp-dressed man is being shoved and punched at a doorway by a furious tough who calls him a "cop-kissin' stoolie," while a woman in red and a cool-headed figure at the door coolly suggest letting him in anyway — shadowy gunmen lurking on the staircase behind them. Published by Lev Gleason and promising "True Criminal Case Histories," Crime and Punishment #42 delivers the gritty, street-level tension that made this series a standout of early 1950s crime comics. With George Tuska bringing the interior art and the "Verne Miller" story on deck, this ten-cent package packs in plenty of underworld atmosphere.