Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: crime comics, pre-code horror

Case of the Giggling Killer in Exposed True Crime Cases, at Auction

Published Tue, 25 Oct 2022 14:16:10 -0500

The Exposed title from D.S. Publishing lasted nine issues from 1948 to 1949 and contained a mix of high-profile murderers from throughout true crime history that often tended towards the brutal end of the true-crime comic book spectrum. Interestingly, two issues of the series caught Fredric Wertham's attention in Seduction of the Innocent with what he interpreted as "how to commit crime" diagrams. A short but memorable crime comic series that was part of a publishing line known for such titles, the series gets off to a cold-blooded start in the first two issues, particularly with issue #2's The Case of the Giggling Killer. There's a solid copy of Exposed #1 and the high-grade River City copy of Exposed #2 up for auction in the 2022 October 27 – 28 Halloween Pre-Code Horror and Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40207 at Heritage Auctions.

Exposed #2 Pedigree (D.S. Publishing, 1948).

The debut issue of Exposed includes such notorious historical figures as George Leonidas Leslie aka "Western George" the so-called King of the Bank Robbers, who legend has it was responsible for responsible for 80% of the bank robberies in the United States from 1865 to 1884. The cover of that debut issue seems to be very loosely inspired by the interior story "Corpse Cash and Carry", which chronicles the 1820s exploits of William Burke and William Hare, whose grave robberies to sell corpses to the medical school at Edinburgh University swiftly progressed to committing murders for the same purpose.

But Exposed #2 includes one of the most gruesome and notorious stories in the title with"The Case of the Giggling Killer", about a boy who grew up a psychopath torturing animals and progressed to brutal murders. It's as brutal of a Pre-Code true crime comic book story as you're ever going to read. This one does not appear to be based on any particular historic true crime figure, and is likely an amalgam of historic crime cases.

Founded by Richard Davis, D.S. Publishing began life in 1940 with the company name Dance Forum, Inc, as the publisher of Dance Magazine. A short time later, the company was renamed D.S. Publishing after the last names of Davis and then-partner A. Walter Socolow. D.S. Publishing put out a wide range of magazines throughout the 1940s, including Song Parade and Song Leader, "song sheet" magazines that reprinted lyrics of popular songs of the time, Tune-In, which covered the radio industry, and Silhouette, a fashion magazine. The company got into the comic book business in late 1947 with Jeff Jordan, U.S. Agent. With crime comics on the rise at the time in the wake of the success of titles such as Lev Gleason's Crime Does Not Pay, D.S. Publishing is best remembered today for a short-lived but extensive crime comic book line including titles like Gangsters Can't Win, Outlaws, Public Enemies, Pay-Off, Underworld, and Exposed.