Voice from the Deep! / Devil's Gun

After the last couple of lighthearted horror romps, it's definitely time for something a wee bit more ugly and mean-spirited. Enter the January 1953 issue of Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #10, with Lou Morales illustrating a nicely compact sickie quickie where the moral of the story has definitely got something to do with maybe taking some damn swimming lessons, already! Also, a B/W, half-page filler tale about a gun, and yes, both are from the same great issue...

Getting A-Head / Fingerprint Removal / Explosive!

Time to finish up July 2024 with an explosively eerie triple be-header of Lawbreakers Suspense Stories via issues #10, #11, and #15. Yes sir, good 'ol decapitation days are here again-- as well as finger melting, and blowin' up the babes! Don't ever say that THOIA never delivers the gory goods, although today's "goods" could've used some better printing, and I did my very best to make these scans a bit more presentable. Ahhh well, can't blame a horror host for tryin'! And you thought we were done with Charlton too, eh? See ya'll in August for lots more...

The Black Closet / Breakout!

Let's do one more looney Lawbreakers post and then get back to mixing things up again this month, shall we? And here's a really weird tale that barely makes any sense-- but that definitely doesn't stop it from being insanely fun! The Art Capello illustrations are reminiscent of Ditko at times, and John Belfi returns yet again (3 posts in a row!) with another one page quickie, --PLUS!! more badly drawn bugs! From the May '53 issue of Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #12.

Sharp Idea / Hot Seat / Deep Freeze

THOIA returns after a brief computer malfunction that fried out my graphic board, but we are back on track-- and since everyone seemed to like that last Lawbreakers post so much here's a Sharp Idea-- plus a hot and cold one too! Yep, another triple header of dumb ass criminals getting EXACTLY what they deserve. From the jolting July 1953 issue of Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #13.

Acid Test / Grounds For Murder!

WARNING: If you've just eaten, you may want to wait awhile before reading any of these stories-- because dear god *choke* *gag* --the theme for this post is: "Flesh Removal!" And all selections come from the insanely horrific November 1953 issue of the rather not so horrifically titled, Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #15, (this series was apparently Charlton's response to EC's Crime Suspenstories), and to say that these seemingly harmless good guy / bad guy tales of burning acid and insatiable insects are gruelingly mean spirited, ugly, and just downright revoltingly repulsive, is putting it ever so mildly. Yes friends, you can almost hear Dick Giordano and John Befli cackling maniacally as they crank-up the ick factor 10-fold here-- so hold on to your noses and as well as any other dangling exposed bits, because seriously, some of you may not survive this triple header of twisted terror...

Round-Trip Ticket!

Sticking with the precode crime comic theme (see our last post too), here we have the gruesomely infamous "tongues" tale from the March 1953 issue of Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11. Scans are provided by my awesome friend and HAUNTED HORROR contributor, Tommy Stanziola, who warned me ahead of time that his copy of this issue was badly stapled and the color printing slightly off register... but despite some blurry dialog sliding into the gutter, and cherry Kool-Aid mustaches on the ladies, I believe you guys are really going to enjoy this one-- just keep your hand clamped over your mouth near the final pages! Another gem from Tommy coming up next too!