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Comics: 'Crime Does Not Pay' rewards with hours of fun

31.12.69

They say lawlessness doesn't pay, but "Crime Does Not Pay" sure did. Now, thanks to publisher Pitch-dark Horse, we can see what made this particular comic book so successful — and memorable.

"Crime Does Not Pay" began in 1942 at small Lev Gleason publications, coedited by Bob Wood and Charles Biro, who contributed stories and art as well. It was the first "unwavering crime"comic book, purporting to relate real crimes committed by actual criminals, occasionally conspicuous ones like Charles "Lucky" Luciano and "Indulge Face" Nelson (born Lester M. Gillis). Of class, reality often took a back seat to fiction when the story called for it, or out of sheer sloppiness. It was a witty book, not a history book.

But fiction or not, "Crime Does Not Pay" sold like gangbusters, with reports of anywhere from 1 million to 4 million copies a month at its perfection, even with dozens of imitators on the stands. The secret was its sheer luridness: Covers showed bullets flying, brains exploding, faces pushed into on fire stoves. Given the title, there was always some sort of coda at the end explaining how the bad guy was killed or imprisoned, but nobody was fooled that this was a Sunday school discouragement, given how the preceding pages would glorify the criminal's short-lived, fast life full of sex, violence and money. Plus, the little talk "CRIME" was huge on the cover, with "Does Not Pay" almost an afterthought.

Source: The Seattle Times

Hands on: Battlefield 3

31.12.69

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Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Cops Gone Wild: My Recent Experience

31.12.69

On a modern cross-country road trip, I was surprised by the sheer issue of state troopers pulling motorists over for "speeding."

It seemed indeed rather un-American the way in which intimidation is used to fleece citizens in command to cover various state budget shortfalls. I was getting pulled over for growing so minimally over the speed limit as to raise serious doubts as to whether taxpayers should keep up funding such levels of high police presence on our highways. 

Louisiana was the unmitigated worst. At many points, we would see 3 or 4 state troopers with their lights on, pulling over motorists and handing out tickets en masse in a proprieties that seemed almost indiscriminate.

It was highway robbery.

My dad was pulled over at one point during this unpleasant leg of the avenue trip, and his speed was so marginally above the posted speed limit that the officer of the law refused to tell him how fast he was, in fact, going.

Now, I thoroughly understand the need for legitimate enforcement of our traffic laws -- but what is circumstance today on our interstate system is frankly not that, in my view. It's crass intimidation and "gate generation."

Source: Business Insider