Official True Crime Cases Comics

As the super hero craze started to wind down at Timely (the comic company that was soon to be Marvel), familiar faces started to disappear to be replaced by the current fad...

...here, for two issues, Official True Crime Cases Comics, taking over the numbering from Sub-Mariner, with cover art by Syd Shores and Vince Alascia...then the title would change again to All True Crime Cases Comics, all from a much simpler time. 

Official True Crime Cases Comics #24 and #25 (Fall and Winter, 1947)

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For Memorial Day

Remembering our soldiers who had given their all for our country on Memorial Day...

...with this cover by Joe Kubert to Our Army At War #202 (February, 1969) featuring a final fate for Sgt. Rock, being mourned by Easy Company.

Judge Joker And His Jury

What happens when criminals take over the government?  

Why, you have events like this in Gotham, where the Joker is both judge and jury, holding trial over Batman!

The Joker Jury!

Here, in Batman #163 (May, 1964) by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris, Joker's attempted crime was stopped by the Gotham Fire Department, but gets free thanks to the Department of Public Works.  This helps Joker on a crime spree using city services, with the Sanitation Department, Department of Roads and Highways, leading Batman and Robin to his castle trap...which puts the Dynamic Duo in front of Judge Joker and his Joker Jury (Joker's henchmen acting like their boss).  Of course Batman can't get a fair trial under this system, and he is found guilty.  With a little trickery and help from Robin, they get free to stop Joker from robbing a Batman themed charity event, in this, the last regular Batman story before Batman's "New Look: debuts!

 

Monster Crime Comics

An expensive book for the time (a whole fifteen cents), Monster Crime Comics #1 (October, 1952) was a rarity at the time, with 52 pages for its one and only issue from Hillman (who published comics from 1940 to 1953).  

Sadly, it was just inventory crime stories, slapped with a slightly horrific cover, to try to use up some inventory stories as the Comic Code Authority approached....

Celebrating Artist Jim Silke

Celebrating the birthday of artist Jim Silke (May 19, 1939), usually known for his pin-up work....

...but here, with his covers to the Xena: Warrior Princess Vs. Callisto three issue mini-series for Topps.

Xena: Warrior Princess Vs. Callisto #1 and #2 (February and March, 1998)

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Xena: Warrior Princess Vs. Callisto #3 (April, 1998)

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Happy Mother's Day With Robin

Robin (Damian Wayne) was trying to be a good friend to Superboy (Jon Kent), as their dads, Batman and Superman are friends, but things got problematic when Damian's mother, Talia Al Ghul came around....trying to kill reporter Lois Lane (who was Jon' mother).

Oh, how difficult Mother's Day can be for some, as shown in the Parent Trap, in Super Sons #13 and #14 (April and May, 2018), first cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli and second cover by Jorge Jimenez (with both variant covers by Dustin Nguyen, with stories by Peter J. Tomasi, Carlo Barberi and Art Thibert.

Celebrating Artist Michael T. Gilbert

Celebrating artist Michael T. Gilbert on his birthday (May 7, 1951) by bringing out his friends.

Michael was the creator of Doc Stearn...Mr. Monster, and over the years, he met a few other characters, like Airboy and his cast of characters in Airboy and Mr. Monster #1 (August, 1987 for Eclipse), as well as a giant dinosaur (here, named Gorzilla) as well as Atomic Boy in Mr. Monster vs Gorzilla (July, 1998 for Image).

The Criminal Superman

Superman...a criminal?  Say it ain't so!

Yet, here he is...accused of killing Lex Luthor.

How did the heroic Superman find himself in this situation?

Action Comics #318 (November, 1964)

Starting off with "The Death Of Luthor!" by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein.  To be fair, it starts on Earth, where prisoner Lex Luthor escapes prison...and heads to a rocket launch, to end up on the planet Lexor, where Luthor is considered a hero, and is under a red sun. While there, he marries a native woman, Ardora, whom he had known before.  

Superman, getting a spaceship to follow Luthor, does, ending up on Lexor (where the red sun makes him powerless). There, after chasing down Luthor, the two fight...with Superman seemingly killing Luthor.  The local establishment take Superman into custody, where he is to be tried for murder.

Action Comics #319 (December, 1964)

Picking up where the last issue left off, "The Condemned Superman!" by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein.  On trial, it goes badly for Superman.  Superman escapes jail before a verdict is rendered, with the man of steel finding one of Luthor's secret laboratories, therein he finds proof of a formula that Luthor invented that a person could take to simulate death.  

Going on that theory, Superman tries to revive Luthor...and is successful.  Luthor faked his death to get the authorities to sentence Superman to death.  Though this clears Superman, the Lexorians do not believe Luthor to be guilty.  Superman leaves Lexor, banished, while Luthor stays there with his new wife.