- Cover Art: Syd Shores
- Stories & Art: John Buscema, Mort Lawrence, Syd Shores & Bill Woolfolk
- Publisher: Magazine Enterprises
🔥 Key Significance
- Pre-Code crime comic heavily influenced by the popular Crime Does Not Pay format
- Features a sinister, otherworldly narrator wearing a top hat
- Notable for its publisher’s unusual practice of offering wanted posters and rewards for real-life criminals
- Features an early comic-book story by John Buscema, decades before he became one of Marvel’s most celebrated artists
- Includes a sensational “Reefer Madness”-style story involving marijuana and cocaine
- The Great Unsolved Mysteries feature examines the real-life murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor
📖 Story & Contents
“The Mad Magician of Crime”
- A bizarre crime tale presented in the sensational style of pre-Code crime comics.
“The Horror Weed”
- A cautionary crime story portraying the destructive consequences of marijuana and cocaine trafficking.
“Wanted: Charles Lester Mault”
- A real-life wanted-criminal feature with a reward offered for information.
“Murder Message”
- A mystery involving murder and a cryptic message.
“Crime Lab: The Hit-and-Run Killer”
- A crime investigation using forensic evidence to track down a killer.
“Great Unsolved Mysteries: The Mystery of the Murdered Movie Star”
- Examines the still-unsolved murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor.
- Includes artwork by John Buscema.
“Wanted: Steven William Davenport”
- Another real-life wanted-criminal feature.
“Hideout From Murder”
- A suspenseful crime story involving a dangerous killer and an attempted escape.
📌 Additional Details
- Genre: Pre-Code Crime / Mystery
- Page Count: 48 pages
- Color: Full Color
- Cover Price: $0.10
- Notable Creator: Early John Buscema work
- Real-World Content: Wanted criminals and the William Desmond Taylor murder mystery
