Lev Gleason Publications

Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including Daredevil, Crime Does Not Pay, and Boy Comics.

Background
Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was based in Manhattan, New York City, and was among the first to produce comic books aimed at an adult audience. He labeled some of his books "illustories" to suggest that they were a new, different form.

Gleason was behind the first and most successful crime comic, Crime Does Not Pay (1942), which spawned dozens of imitators. Gleason's crime titles (along with horror titles produced by EC Comics) became targets of increasing criticism of the influence of comic books. This pressure led to the formation in 1948 of the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) in an effort to avoid external regulation. Gleason was a founding member. The ACMP was the first step toward the establishment of the Comics Code Authority in 1954.

In April 1949, Lev Gleason Publications &mdash; at this point located ar 114 East 32nd Street in Manhattan &mdash; began publishing a comics magazines for adults, Tops, carrying "stories illustrated in the style and technique of comic strips." The first-issue features included an excerpt from the Billy Rose book Wine, Women and Words.

Gleason went out of business in 1956. Its final publications were the teen-humor comic Jim Dandy #3 (Sept. 1956), and the children's Western comedy Shorty Shiner #3 (Oct. 1956). Both were published under the imprint Dandy Magazines Inc., as A Dandy Comic.

Personnel
Beginning December 15, 1947, Lev Gleason Publications' advertising director was Gilbert G. Southwick, who had resigned as food advertising manager for Seventeen magazine. He left in September the following year to become vice president and general manager of the Roselle Park, New Jersey toy manufactuer Childhood Interests, Inc. In 1953, Gleason vice president E.A. Piller resigned to open his own office as a publishers' representative, with Gleason among his clients.

Selected list of Lev Gleason Publications titles

 * Black Diamond Western (1949–1956) 52 issues
 * Boy Comics (1942–1956) 117 issues
 * Boy Loves Girl (1952–1956) 33 issues
 * Boy Meets Girl (1950–1952) 24 issues
 * Crime and Punishment (1948–1955) 74 issues
 * Crime Does Not Pay (1942–1955) 126 issues
 * Daredevil Comics (1941–1956) 134 issues
 * Lovers' Lane (1949–1954) 41 issues
 * Silver Streak Comics (1939–1946) 23 issues