Smash Comics #57

When Doc Mortimer Wackey and Gabby cook up a gruesome dummy prank to scare their housemate Sniffer Snoop, they unwittingly set off a chain of mix-ups involving a stolen ventriloquist's dummy, a murdered informant, and the criminal schemes of the ruthless Killer Kride. Midnight must wade through the chaos of confused corpses and dolls to track down a crucial list of evidence before Kride's secrets—and his loot—disappear for good.

Daffy, the world champion lady wrestler, finds herself broke and homeless after three weeks of unpaid rent—until her fast-talking boyfriend Deke shows up with a get-rich-quick scheme to save the day. What starts as a simple act of honesty spirals into a wild adventure filled with con games, dangerous criminals, and unexpected heroics that leaves both Daffy and Deke scrambling to keep up with the chaos they've created.

In this 1945 installment from Smash Comics #57, boxing champion Chuck takes on a mentor role at the Boys' Club, training young fighters with the same discipline that made him a champion. When Detective McGinty faces off against a former rival in the ring, his old friend Lane steps in to help him prepare—proving that even seasoned detectives need a little coaching when the gloves come off.

Rookie Rankin tangles with a prankster crook and his safe-busting gang who've turned the police force into laughingstocks by planting switched fingerprints at their robberies—making the cops look like fools with each heist. When the brass threatens to shut down the department over the ridicule, Rookie hatches a plan to turn the crooks' own fingerprint racket against them. It's a clever game of cat-and-mouse where Rankin gets to prove that he's always got a few tricks up his sleeve.