Police Comics #116

Police Comics #116 delivers exactly what its banner promises — suspense, mystery, and intrigue — with a cover by Reed Crandall (pencils) and Chuck Cuidera (inks) that crackles with mid-action tension. A sharp-dressed man fires his pistol as a screaming dark-haired woman in red recoils in the foreground, while a heavyset figure crashes backward through a wooden chair in the background. Teasing the Ken Shannon story "The Stage Was Set for Murder," this 1952 Quality Comics entry is a fine example of the era's hard-boiled crime comics done with real visual punch.