Lev Gleason Publications
From Hey Kids Comics
 Lev Gleason | |
| Status | defunct 1956 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founder | Leverett Gleason (above) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Fiction genres | Crime, Romance, Western |
| Imprints | Comic House 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.
| CREATORS | TITLES | IMAGES | IMPRINTS | CHARACTERS |
Background[edit | edit source]
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 — at this point located ar 114 East 32nd Street in Manhattan — began publishing a comics magazines for adults, Tops, carrying "stories illustrated in the style and technique of comic strips."[1] The first-issue features included an excerpt from the Billy Rose book Wine, Women and Words.[1]
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.[2]
Personnel[edit | edit source]
Beginning December 15, 1947, Lev Gleason Publications' advertising director was Gilbert G. Southwick, who had resigned as food advertising manager for Seventeen magazine.[3] 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.[4] In 1953, Gleason vice president E.A. Piller resigned to open his own office as a publishers' representative, with Gleason among his clients.[5]
Titles[edit | edit source]
- Main article: List of Lev Gleason Publication Titles
Selected list of Lev Gleason Publications titles[edit | edit source]
- 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
Indicia/Colophon Publishers[edit | edit source]
- Comic House 15 1942 1945 -
- Dandy Magazines Inc. 6 1956 1956 -
- Daredevil Publishers 3 -
- Junior Readers' Guild 13 1953 1956 -
- Lev Gleason Enterprises Corp. 4 1954 1955 -
- Lev Gleason Publications 257 1946 1956 -
- Magazine House 9 1943 1945 -
- Magazine House, Inc. 4 1943 1944 -
- New Friday Publications 14 1940 1942 -
- Newsbook Publishing Corporation 4 -
- Tops Magazine 1 1949 1949 -
- Your Guide Publications
Brand Emblems[edit | edit source]
- A Dandy Comic 5 1956 1956
- A Dime Comic 1 1946 1946
- An Atomic Comic 1 1946 1946
- Comic House 10 1942 1943
- Lev Gleason 362 1944 1956
- Rhoda/Your Guide 7 1939 1941
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Advertising News and Notes: Notes". The New York Times. April 4, 1949. Retrieved April 20, 2013. Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription
- ↑ Lev Gleason Publications at the Grand Comics Database
- ↑ "Advertising News and Notes: Personnel". The New York Times. December 10, 1947. Retrieved April 20, 2013. Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription
- ↑ "Business Notes". The New York Times. September 6, 1948. Retrieved April 20, 2013. Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription
- ↑ "Advertising & Marketing News". The New York Times. April 20, 1953. Retrieved April 20, 2013. Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription
External links[edit | edit source]
- Lev Gleason Publications at the Comic Book DB
- Dakin, in Worcester, Kent, "Lev Gleason: The Family Speaks!, Brett (July 2, 2010). "American Daredevil: Comics, Communism and My Uncle Lev". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved Apri 20, 2013. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - Lev Gleason's Comic House