[MarkWarner]

I thought I was being mean hanging on .. plus this is really quite a bit of a read.

So we kick off our Reading Group adventure with https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=15015 Not sure we'll match their 6,000,000 monthly readers ... but we'll be close

[paw broon]

O.K., in at the deep end.  I read the whole comic and I actually think that reading the whole thing rather than just the 1st. story is instructive, just not in the way the publishers seem to have in mind.
A question, does anyone know if this and its companion title were really produced with the aim of cutting crime and discouraging young people from entering into a life of crime, or was it just to make money?  The readership figure is misleading as you can usually take a third to quarter of that to get the actual sales figure.  And as its a comic, there would have been a lot of returns, giveaways and waste.  Still, that's a lot of sales.
So, the contents.  The cover is quite exciting, apart from being not very well drawn. 
The inside "message" is immediately shown to be nonsense as, on the splash page, we see a slim, attractive female in a tight dress, who is a criminal. in fact, I'd go as far as to say that the
"gun moll" is about the most physically attractive character in the story.  Then I note rule #9 which differentiates between female - gun molls - and male criminals, saying they should not be too attractive.
But the main problem are the stories.  There is no suspense, as every reader knows what is going to happen, or should, given all the blurbs and the "message".  The whole book is as subtle as a brick.  The first few times a reader picks up the comic, there will be a possible intrigue and interest but after a few goes, would you really want to keep reading the same message which featured the most unattractive human beings?
There is also the fact that Sloper is really thick.  The suggestion being that all criminals are stupid.  As we know, and knew then, criminals can be very bright indeed.  As there was corruption in public offices, there is no mention of that type of criminality.
As for the art, it's passable at best. 
I like the "Crime" narrator guy.

Over to someone else.

[MarkWarner]

I have just finished the book, but it really needs some digestion so these are my thoughts so far. Another post will be needed!

I had to laugh that the message on page 2 bears NO relationship to the content that follows. Well apart from the fact that the criminals don't win ... but they never did in those comic book days anyway.

I certainly enjoyed the first story and "Mr Crime" was a nicely drawn device .. but the message to me was don't trust women as a crime partner. And I think it is very good advice!! I am sure Felix would have done fine working on his own.

With Wilbur Underhill I am having a MAJOR problem with the 2 restaurant menus that appear. I need to investigate further and I will report back on this issue. This is just a part of my troublesome world.

I found the story and art in Paul Chretien rather disturbing and wrong "I'm fond of you Paul! You do remind me a lot of my father - though you haven't killed as many men as he ..."

Brutal art might be a good description? This is probably the story I will remember most in this book .. I guess cos it hit the nightmare spot for me.

The French are it it again in the text story "A Lesson In Murder". It shows potential criminals like you and me. not to be greedy and also not to play act. It was a great bit of pulp.

I really didn't go for the Ying and Yang end to Benny Mickson

Wow what a cool finale to the book. Great Murder mystery stereotypes an obligatory monocle and the conductor provides the moustache.

All in all I think a great first book for us to sink our teeth into! And I am off to investigate the food menus ... so at least one more post from me!

[bowers]

This issue did, indeed, have some truly jaw-dropping moments. Where to begin? The publisher's manifesto was priceless, especially the invitation to other publishers to adopt it. Interesting, as this predated the Comics Code by about six years. The whole tone of the book was violent murder and betrayal of every kind.  However, as a "civic-minded publisher", even though they were presenting all this murder and mayhem they were also telling you not to do this! Why, they even had a few testimonials from real criminals who wished they had followed the book's  advice. What a great premise to sell books, and it worked! Propaganda aside, the stories were pretty predictable and the art average although I did enjoy seeing some of Tuska's earlier work in the Sloper story. My favorite features were the two "On the Level" pages (reminded me of "Believe It or Not"), the Whodunnit? (always love a mystery), and of course the Paul Chretien tale. Totally agree with Mark on that one, especially about the art! All-in-all a very interesting read, giving us some insight into both social values (or lack of) and marketing ploys of the time. Not a book I probably would have read on my own, but that is the purpose of a group like this- to move us out of our comfort zones and expose us to what we may have missed. Cheers, Bowers

[narfstar]

I just read the first one. I like the Mr Crime narrator. I hear the voice of the narrator from Whistler OTR. That adds to the enjoyment for me. I was not impressed with Tuska's art on this. It looked like a cross between Morisi and Lee Elias and rather plain faced. I like stories based on fact to learn a little history with my reading. Story was enjoyable enough.

[crashryan]

CRIME DOES NOT PAY #63

Wow! This book made my head spin. Years ago, after I graduated college, my roommate and I went on Lev Gleason sprees reading dozens of CDnP issues in a row. I don't know how we did it!

First and foremost there's a LOT of reading here. This ain't no ten-minute comic. Tons of dialogue...and, with the exception of Mr Crime's monologues, very few captions. The stories change time and scene without warning and without establishing shots. Everything is done in the dialogue or to a lesser degree the art. Sort of like movies, or more accurately, like old-time radio dramas. One thing bugged me was the way some panels had two or three panels' worth of action in them, with the dialogue covering the gaps. The cover is one example. Another is the first panel of page 19, where a crook cases a store, waits for a poky customer, and watches her leave all in one thought balloon).

"Felix Sloper": George Tuska was a champ at crime stories, though here there's so much dialogue and so many panels that he has little room to do his thing. While I have a nostalgic liking for Mr. Crime, he was really rather a pain in the ass. Mr C's basic paradox was that he rooted for and advised the criminals, but they never listened to him. So as their career began to go sour Mr. C switched to telling them what losers they were. Fair weather fiend. One thing I had forgotten was the intensity of the misogyny in Gleason's crime stories. This isn't the only time we were warned off women--not just criminal women, but all women. They're grasping, two-faced ball-busters. I don't know whether Mr Crime was recommending celibacy or sticking to other men for company. Just remember them dames will do you in every time!

"Wilbur Underhill": Pretty straightforward story with a multi-action panel that is startlingly awful (Page 23 Panel 5). The overwhelmed criminal runs from his hideout yelling "I gotta get out of this! Oh, what'll I do? They're shootin' at me! Please, I don't wanna die! Can't somebody help me?" Even so he lasts three more panels. Fred Guardineer was a dedicated craftsman who worked for years both as artist and writer, but I never warmed to his style.

"Paul Chretien": This astonishing story illuminates the hypocrisy of Charles Biro's self-important "code" on the inside front cover. Especially the item about criminals "not being shown to enjoy a criminal act." I'm not big on labelling things obscene or immoral, but my God! I've never read a comic story this sordid. The art by Mike Roy and John Belfi is as ugly as the story itself. High point (or rather low point) is when Mom shows her pre-teen son how to come on sexually to a sailor so she can get close enough to murder him. "Are you watching, Jean? I drive the knife in when he embraces me! Of course you will have women to embrace when you grow up!" Unless Jean listens to Mr Crime's advice.

"Benny Mickson": I've only recently come to appreciate Tony DiPreta's qualities. He was well-suited to crime stories and despite occasional awkward layouts did solid work on tales like this. As for the story, I wondered at first if a page was missing. Mickson and his gun-crazy girlfriend were last seen stealing a car in which to go to St. Louis. The next moment Benny's in St. Louis entering a diner where he expects to meet  a "dame who phoned" him about a job. There is no explanation, like how this woman (an undercover cop) knew his phone number. The entire incident comes from left field.

"Whodunnit": I never cared much for this sort of story. The writer plays fair with the reader, which isn't always the case. The story is well-suited to Guardineer's art, though the character "George Rudov" looks like he wandered in from a bigfoot-humor comic.

Conclusion: A very interesting book with some truly disturbing elements. Reading stuff like "Paul Chretien" makes you wonder if Wertham wasn't so far wrong after all.

[paxman53]

Crime Does Not Pay #63

All in all an interesting one to begin with. Quite a long read as I wasn't skipping sections as I sometimes do.

Loved the mission statement at the beginning. Can't believe how righteous it sounded. Possibly an early version of the Comics Code. For UK readers, in this photograph doesn't Lev Gleason look a bit like an older John Junkin, the actor??

Felix Sloper

[paw broon]

Like Mark, I had to have another look at the comic and also check the menu.  Those prices changed pretty sharpish, didn't they?
It's interesting that 2 of you see a slight resonance with radio dramas.
John Junkin, yes indeed!
One thing that I should have mentioned is my ongoing frustration with artists in American comics who just cannot do the research on the locomotives of other countries.  That final whodunnit has a N. American diesel loco in 2 panels.  Lazy.

[MarkWarner]

My last observations are:

On page 12 the moll has a book of matches saying "Shelte Wines". Looks like blatant product placement to me. In direct violation of rule #3 that Biro has just published.

Now to a matter of deep and puzzling concern to me. The diner menus:

Page 17

Coffee 5c
Doughnuts 10c
Hot Dogs 10c
Hamburger 5c
Bacon & Eggs 15c

and page 19

Coffee 5c
Doughnuts 10c
Hot Dogs 15c
Hamburger 10c
Bacon & Eggs 15c

5 cents has been added to the hot dogs and burgers. I am not sure if this is the same joint and the owner has put the prices up during the heist expecting a few more people in afterwards, or it is a different place?

I thought it strange to see bacon and eggs on the menu. Being a Brit this is traditional diner fare here, but I didn't realize it was in the U.S. as well. So something new learnt!

Also I was surprised how the hot dog was more expensive than the burger I'd have imagined it the other way around.  In fact the hot dog looks expensive, especially after the price hike where you can get a plate of eggs and bacon for the same 15c.

In search of enlightenment on this worrisome issue I had a surf around ... the net result is I could not find a vintage menu with both burgers and hot dogs on it. In fact I drew a surprise blank on hot dogs on menus.

I did find this, an original menu from the "original burger joint". It is charging 5c as well, same as a play on their jukebox! http://nostalgia049.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/white-castle-hamburgers/

And I found a later 1950's menu, where the spaghetti is under half the price of a burger!
http://www.wiveswithknives.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Yaws-Top-Notch-Menu-from-the-50s.jpg In fact it looks great value!

Not sure what I achieved on this mission ... I suspect nothing.

[mr_goldenage]

Personally I disliked the book. Bad art for most of the book, the art always looked rushed. Story # 1, Mr Crime, and the lead character Felix was proably the best story in the book.

I found it interesting that some of you found the menu more facinating than the story itself. Interesting. I always found the Biro Crime books to preachy for my tastes. I preferred the earlier books in his line-up and this wasn't one of them that I admired.

End of story for me.

RB @ Work and back from the dead.

[twiztor]

read them all. well, skimmed the text story.

Felix Sloper. i enjoyed the "Mr. Crime" narrator, but was glad he was just in the one story. Had he appeared in all the stories i would've hated the issue. Whoever said this book is as subtle as a brick is correct. Also loved the direct opposition to the pg 2 rules immediately.

the letters page was fantastic and the most obviously fake thing i've seen in a long time. i truly hope nobody believed these were real, even in the 50s when this came out.

the Chretien story was the worst of the bunch. zero redeeming qualities, and we switch generations with a change of the panel.

i rather enjoyed the murder mystery at the end. very well put together, giving everybody a motive and "proof".

[Drusilla lives!]

Read the Felix Sloper story.  I must honestly say I lost interest in it by about the fifth page.  The only reason I stuck with it was the Tuska art... which was nothing to write home about, but at least was well drafted (the best drawn story in the issue imo).  Skimmed through most everything else except the last "Who Dunnit" piece, which was an interesting idea but suffered from the lackluster artwork.

Can't really say how this mag had such a large following/readership... perhaps it's just me, or was just this issue, but I found the overall material/concept rather uninteresting and lacking in some fundamental way. 

In other words, I couldn't see myself running down to the corner newsstand every month to grab a copy just to read about the likes of a Felix Sloper.