EXTRACTS: Illustrators Crime Comics Special © 2020 Book Palace Books (144 pages in full edition)

89 fair proportion of news stand space amongst the big league titles such as Batman, Superman and Captain Marvel . Pleased with the efforts of his enterprising editorial team, Gleason made an offer to Biro and Wood which was unheard of in an era in which comic publishers made a practice of effectively asset stripping creators such as Siegel and Schuster who, despite being the creators of Superman , were destined to live much of their lives in penury along with many of their contemporaries. Gleason, in contrast, was a highly principled individual who practiced what he preached and wanted his creatives to share in the fruits of their labours. His offer was to give Biro and Wood a share in the profits of the titles they edited, as well as a name check on the covers of each comic they produced. He was also looking for something a little different to the, by now, over-crowded superhero genre which dominated comic book BELOW: Biro’s promotional drawings of Daredevil and the Little Wise Guys for a series of cards first released by Gleason in 1941. Powerful concepts backed by punchy designs and strong storylines marked Biro out as one of the most gifted creators of his (or any other’s) day. Imaged by Heritage Auctions (HA.com)