True Comics #77

Jean Lafitte cuts a mysterious figure in the early 1800s—is he a patriotic privateer or a cunning pirate preying on merchant ships? When the British threaten New Orleans, Lafitte offers his services and considerable firepower to America, winning glory and a pardon for his men. But once the war ends, his restless spirit and taste for wealth drive him west to Galveston Island, where he builds his own kingdom and returns to his old ways, prompting the U.S. government to finally move against him before his legendary hoard can slip away.

When a wealthy Midwesterner is snatched in 1937 and held for ransom, Special Agent Steve Saunders and the FBI launch a nationwide manhunt centered on tracking the marked bills. As the search narrows to the Santa Anita Racetrack in Los Angeles, Saunders goes undercover to catch the desperate kidnapper in the act—but even cornered, the fugitive isn't ready to surrender quietly.

When cash goes missing from a benefit carnival, Detective Robbins rounds up three suspects with criminal records, each spinning a different alibi for the night of the theft. One of them slips up and reveals far more than he intends—but can you spot the guilty party before Robbins does?

Eugene Francois Vidocq, France's pioneering detective, goes undercover with a dangerous disguise to infiltrate the criminal underworld and uncover the mysterious M. Nitre, a shadowy figure who supplies forged passports, sanctuary, and criminal services to the worst of Paris's thieves and cutthroats. Posing as the escaped galley convict Manget, Vidocq infiltrates Nitre's household and gains the crime boss's trust by demonstrating his skill at making keys—all while racing against discovery. Now deep inside the organization's inner circle, Vidocq must navigate the treacherous world of Paris's underworld to expose Nitre's operation.