Crime Does Not Pay

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 1

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

Uncut and uncensored, the infamous precode Crime Does Not Pay comics are finally collected into a series of archival collections! With brutal, realistic tales focusing on vile criminals, Crime Does Not Pay was one of the most popular comics of the 1940s. The series was a favorite target of Dr. Fredric Wertham and other censors and is partially responsible for the creation of the stifling Comics Code Authority. Now revered and mythic, this collection of the first four hardtofind Crime Does Not Pay comics features a fine roster of Golden Age creators and a new introduction by Matt Fraction (Iron Man, Casanova)!

Crime Does Not Pay Archives Vol. 2

Volume

Dec 17, 2025

The celebrated pre-Code Crime Does Not Pay comics are finally collected into a series of unflinching and uncensored deluxe editions! The infamous Crime Does Not Pay stories, focusing on criminal scum, nefarious mobsters, and urban legends, made Crime Does Not Pay one of the most popular comics of the 1940s. This series was a favorite target of censors and is partially responsible for the creation of the stifling Comics Code Authority! Revered, influential, and very hard to find, Crime Does Not Pay issues #26 to #29 are collected for your enjoyment and education!

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 3

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

One of the best-selling comics of the 1940s, Crime Does Not Pay focused on violent mobsters and murderous lowlifes who machine-gunned their way through the urban underworld . . . until justice landed them in the chair! In 1954, the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency targeted this comic series for its graphic violence, eventually leading to the creation of the repressive Comics Code Authority. Issues #30 to #33 of Crime Does Not Pay are finally collected in this deluxe edition, which includes "Million Dollar Robbery, drawn by Alvin Hollingsworth" perhaps the first story in US comics history drawn by an African-American artist and featuring a new introduction by comic-book giant Howard Chaykin (Marked Man, American Flagg!).

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 4

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

Crime Does Not Pay the true-crime comic that enjoyed massive circulation throughout the forties and fifties was a hit with readers, but an easy target for Seduction of the Innocent author Dr. Fredric Wertham! The 1954 Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hammered Crime Does Not Pay for its graphic scenes of violence, ultimately leading to the formation of the rigid Comics Code Authority. Issues #34 to #37 of this visceral, provocative series are now collected into one fine, head-walloping edition with a new foreword by modern crime maestro David Lapham (Stray Bullets, Murder Me Dead)!

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 5

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

Deadly dames and streetwise mugs populate the pages of Crime Does Not Pay, the 1940s true-crime comic that was a hit with millions of readers, but a scandal for the guardians of public decency. Issues #38-41 of this controversial series, in which each mobster's reign of mayhem ended behind bars or in the "hot seat," are collected into one hard-hitting edition with a new foreword by comics journalist Paul Gravett (Comics International)!

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 6

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

Tommy-gun-toting toughs roar across the pages of Crime Does Not Pay, the sensational 1940s comic that enraptured millions with its scandalous stories of criminal scum, ripped right from the headlines! This edition collects issues #42#45 of this infamous series and features a new foreword by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine! Collects Crime Does Not Pay #42#45. * Nearly seventy years later, CRIME still has the power to thrill and shock!

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 7

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

A crooked path of theft, extortion, and murder can only lead one place: the electric chair! When will these no-good mugs learn? The latest volume of the Eisner and Harvey Awardnominated archival series collects issues #46#49 of the wildly popular 1940s true-crime comic series, with a new foreword by Lorenzo Carcaterra (Sleepers). * 2013 Eisner and Harvey Awardnominated series! * Foreword by Lorenzo Carcaterra (New York Times best-selling author of Sleepers)!

Crime Does Not Pay Vol. 8

Volume

Mar 18, 2026

Pyromaniacs, murderous thugs, and pinstriped goons wreak havoc in the notorious pre-Code Crime Does Not Pay anthology. This collection--featuring every uncensored page from Crime Does Not Pay issues #50 to #53--is brimming with sharp work by artists George Tuska, Fred Guardineer, Charles Biro, and others! These gruesome tales are topped off with an all-new foreword by crime storytelling all-star Joel Rose (Get Jiro!, Miami Vice, Kill the Poor)! Criminals had better learn . . . the path of theft and murder only leads to prison and the chair!

Crime Does Not Pay: City of Roses

Volume

Dec 17, 2025

Portland, Oregon, in the 1970s. Portland is often called the Rose City, but the denizens that inhabit its underbelly rarely smell so sweet. Dirty cops, dirty robbers. These shady characters and their illicit connections reveal the boiling corruption in Phil Stanford's true crime stories. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. Welcome to the City of Roses. Dark Horse is currently publishing archive editions of the 1950's most vile crime comics, Crime Does Not Pay, and is now creating new crime stories under that title. This is the first of them.