Author:
Title: PUBLIC ENEMIES No. 2
Place Published:
Publisher:D.S. [Indicia: DS Publishing Co., Inc.]
Date Published: May-June, 1948
Description: Fine (6.0). Very slight spine roll, bottom spine and bottom right corner slightly soft, tiny crease to top right corner of front cover. Off-white pages.

Credits: Cover: Art Gates. Art: Art Gates, Shelly Moldoff?, Al Wenzel, Eddie Robbins?, uncredited others. Overstreet: "Used in SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT, pg. 95."

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A 5.5 sold for $255 in 1/21.Mashers, Molls and Murder: Cornfed kid clobbers crook in niteclub for mashing on his moll, only for the crook to whip out his rod – murder in the making. Dr. Wertham called out this mag for its muddled morality: "In one comic an old man is killed during a hold-up of his jewlery store. He had not obeyed the order to back up against the wall quickly enough. After other crimes and murders the captured criminal says: 'It was not right to kill him... That man couldn't have obeyed me! ...That old man was STONE DEAF!'

"The moral principle is clear. If you hold up a man and he does not obey quickly enough because he is deaf, you are not supposed to shoot him. But if he is not deaf, shooting him is all right." – Dr. Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent. Rinehart & Co.: 1954, p. 95.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.