Heading:
Author:
Title: FIGHT AGAINST CRIME No. 20
Place Published:
Publisher:Story [Indicia: Story Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: July, 1954
Description:

CGC certified: Fine+ (6.5). Cream to off-white pages pages. Cover: Dick Beck (Grand Comics Database comes up empty, but Greg Sadowsky credits Beck on p. 315 of "Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s"). Art: No GCD credits, but Bill Savage and Hy Fleishman are contributors. Overstreet: "Decapitation cover; contains hanging, ax murder, blood & violence." GPAnalysis: A 6.5 sold for $12,000 in July 2020; a 5.0 sold for $10,500 in June 2021.

Violent, crazy mag, totally over the top. Story published this mag hot on the heels of EC's scandal-ridden Crime SuspenStories #22 (see lot 47). Judging by the 2-3 month gap in the publication dates of these titles, Story was probably wrapping up production of this ish just as CSS 22 was hitting the stands, giving Story's editor just enough time to hire a hack to bang out a knock-off.

Story is famed among pre-Code cognoscenti for its flagrant EC rip-offs. One wonders if the decision to ape CSS 22's decapitation cover came before or after Bill Gaines's disastrous testimony before the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency on April 21, 1954? As every EC fan knows, Gaines attempted to defend his line of comics before the Subcommittee, only to be pelted with tough questions about CSS 22 just as his prescription amphetamines were crapping out. As a result, Gaines looked ghoulish on live TV, pretty much sealing EC's doom. If the order to copy CSS 22 came after the televised hearings, this mag's cover may represent an attempt to capitalize on the furor, adding another layer of cynicism and exploitation to Story's already tawdry marketing practices.

"Fight Against Crime #20 features the most gruesome cover Story ever ran. EC's Bill Gaines... ended up having to defend a decapitation scene of his own (on the front cover of Crime Suspense #22) at a Senate hearing." — George Suarez, Tales To Terrible To Tell #5. NEC: 1992, p. 36.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2022 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art, vintage comic-related photos and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

A limited edition of 100 softcover and 6 hardcover catalogues are available. 140 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2022 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art, vintage comic-related photos and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.