Wanted Comics #38

In 1947 Paris, down-on-his-luck correspondent Allen Light stumbles into a smuggling operation when he lifts a wallet from an arrested smuggler—and discovers a diamond merchant's business card inside. He blackmails his way into a cushy deal: smuggle 618 carats of diamonds back to the States, pocket ten percent, and sail home on a luxury liner. But when appendicitis strikes mid-voyage, Light finds himself hospitalized stateside with the diamonds still hidden, facing threats from the syndicate operatives who expect him to deliver—while customs agents close in on the whole operation. As pressures mount from every direction, Light must decide what he's willing to risk to keep his newfound fortune.

Paul Buka arrives in America with little more than ambition, eventually securing work as a handyman and chauffeur for art dealer Henry Bolton—who takes him under his wing, cultivating his taste for fine art, music, and sculpture. When a chance encounter outside the opera house leads him to Dutch Yost, a petty criminal, Buka's dreams of wealth and refinement collide with temptation, setting him on a brutal path that transforms him into a smooth operator who uses culture as a mask for ruthlessness. As his criminal empire grows, Buka discovers that neither taste nor refinement can protect him from the violence that follows those who climb too high in the underworld.

This true-crime account documents the rise and fall of Thomas James Holden, a career criminal who, after sixteen years in federal prison for mail robbery, was released in 1946 with his devoted wife Lillian's support—only to betray her trust by secretly joining a bandit gang. The story chronicles how Holden's criminal activities escalated over three years until a fateful night in June 1949 when his drinking set events in motion that would lead to his current status as a wanted fugitive. A haunting look at how one man's choices shattered the loyalty of those closest to him.

A cargo ship sinks off the Brazilian coast, leaving ship's purser Roy Devons and seaman John Keene clinging to a life raft with no fresh water and nothing but scorching sun and thirst ahead. As desperation sets in and rescue remains nowhere in sight, the two men's survival instincts turn dark in this grim tale of what happens when the will to live becomes the only law that matters.

A man staggers into police headquarters confessing to murder, but when Doc Gage examines the ballistics evidence at the crime lab, he uncovers a dangerous discrepancy that points to someone else entirely—forcing Loot and Doc to set a trap to catch the real killer. As the investigation tightens around an unexpected suspect, the detectives must outrace a desperate criminal who's willing to kill again to protect his scheme.

On the morning of December 29th, 1949, patrolman Bronislaw Kuchinski spots John Marin acting suspiciously near an apartment building and follows him into a basement, where he discovers Marin breaking into washing machine coin boxes. When Kuchinski moves to make the arrest, Marin fights back desperately, and a violent struggle erupts between the two men. This gripping true-crime account captures the dangerous moment when a wanted suspect turns violent rather than submit to capture.

When Eddie Forrest reunites with his old schoolmate Vince Anderson at a pool room, a lucrative opportunity seems to promise the money he needs to marry his sweetheart—until a simple errand lands him at a murdered man's house with a gun in his hand and a frame-up closing around him. Detective William Shaw must separate truth from a perfectly constructed trap before an innocent man pays the ultimate price.