Crime Does Not Pay #78

Charles Biro's cover for this August 1949 issue tells its story in three punchy panels: a sharply dressed man in a blue suit moves through an apartment stairwell while his confederates debate whether a nearby figure holding an "I AM BLIND" sign is a genuine blind man or a phony, and the sequence ends with the crooks congratulating themselves on pulling off "the perfect crime." Edited by Biro and Bob Wood for publisher Lev Gleason, Crime Does Not Pay #78 proudly carries its Comics Code authorization and endorsements from Police Captain Felix L. Lynch and former N.Y.C. Police Dept. Women's Bureau chief Mary Sullivan — a reminder that this title positioned itself as a moral force even while delivering gripping street-level drama. Fifty-two full pages of "All True Crime Illustories" await inside, including George Tuska's work on "Link Gage.