Crime and Punishment #53

This Lev Gleason crime anthology delivers a tense, street-level moment straight from 1952: a grimacing man crouches inside an apartment gripping what appears to be a weapon, while outside the window two armed men in hats use a ringing doorbell and a "gas company refund" ruse to lure him into the open. The deceptive ploy — one thug coolly pointing a revolver while his partner plays the con — captures exactly the kind of hardboiled double-cross that made Crime and Punishment such a compelling "thrill a minute" read. Promising "True Criminal Case Histories," this issue is a sharp slice of early-'50s crime comics at their most suspenseful.