CRIME MYSTERIES #1 * CGC 6.0 * Cross-Dressing Cop * Color Theory of Crime Comics

Author:
Title: CRIME MYSTERIES No. 1
Place Published:
Publisher:Ribage [Indicia: Ribage Publishing Corp.]
Date Published: May, 1952
Description: CGC certified: Fine (6.0). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: Light foxing to cover; light readers crease front cover; light wear to cover.

CGC Census: 30 graded copies (30 Universal).

GPAnalysis: A 6.0 sold for $293 in 11/13; a 5.5 sold for $600 in 11/20; 7.5 sold for $2640 in 9/23; a lowly 1.5 sold for $351 in 12/23..

Credits: Cover: Adolphe Barreaux? Art: Mo Marcus?, Al Gordon?, Ken Battefield, Pierre Charpentier, Saul Rosen? Overstreet: "Transvestism story."Mishmash of Meshugas: A blonde in bondage cringes at the approach of a misshapen sex fiend as her heroic rescuer climbs in the window, his phallic gat ready to plug the perp. Note that the blonde is clad in virginal blue rather than the usual red dress that signifies both sexual availability and abject victimhood in the color-coded semiotics of pre-Code horror and crime comics.

"The women who are targets of male skeletons, ghouls, vampires, or your average strolling psychopath are marked by the red dresses they wear. They may, of course, be regarded as scarlet women of easy virtue... but the red is even more sinister than that: Dressed in the color of blood, a woman is an appointed, permitted human sacrifice." – Jim Trombetta, The Horror! The Horror! Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You To Read! Abrams: 2010, p. 202.

In case you're wondering what makes us think that blue = virtue in the symbology of colors in the arts – well, we Googled it, natch, and here's what Google Arts & Culture spewed out: "In the Renaissance, nobody was more important than the Virgin Mary. Because she was almost always painted wearing blue, the color became synonymous with purity, humility, and the divine."

Anyway, the semiotic code-switching continues under the covers, where a burly flatfoot dresses as a dame to catch a killer, inspiring Overstreet to tag this mag with a "transvestism" label. Crossdressing comics are all the rage these days, at least according to the gang at Mycomicshop.com: "Astute collectors seek pre-code comics featuring transvestism, hypodermic needles, 'injury to eye' panels, and other oddball story devices."______________________________________________________________

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.