Posted in: Comics, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Killers of the Flower Moon, l.b. cole

The Osage Murders & L.B. Cole's Crime-Fighting Detective, at Auction

Brought to greater attention by Killers of the Flower Moon, William Hale's murderous campaign against the Osage was fictionalized in Crime-Fighting Detective #19

Long before the acclaimed book and film Killers of the Flower Moon brought the harrowing story of William Hale's murderous 1920s Oklahoma campaign against members of the Osage Nation to the forefront of the American consciousness, that brutal history was fictionalized for the newsstands in the pages of the comic book Crime-Fighting Detective #19.  Most so-called true crime comics of the era were dominated by organized crime figures, smugglers, bank robbers, sensational crimes of passion, and other tales lifted from then-recent headlines, but they did occasionally reach farther into the past to tell tales of crimes of historical note.  Such was the case for the surprising inclusion of a fictionalized and flawed account of the Hale's "Reign of Terror" against the Osage to gain control of their "headrights," federally mandated royalties from oil sales that Osage Nation members possessed.

The nine-page feature titled "Excuse for Murder" is a simplified and fictionalized retelling of the real-life Osage murders, a series of killings in 1920s Oklahoma orchestrated to rob the Osage of their mineral and oil wealth.  While the broad strokes of this history remain relatively intact even in this condensed form, the story contains inaccuracies that are likely due to poor research and other general liberties taken in interpreting the historical facts.  Such inaccuracies are not uncommon in the true crime comic book tales of this era, but this story's most glaring deficiency is somewhat unusual even by those 1950s standards — the victims of this history, the Osage people who are most central to this story, are given very little direct representation here.  They are more often referred to in dialogue rather than shown on the page.  And unfortunately, the Osage Nation member who gets the most representation on the page is depicted in an extremely stereotyped way. Referred to as Thunder Cloud, this man appears to have no direct analog in the actual history, and has been introduced to establish the nature of some of Hale's schemes.  With these many qualifications, several of the major figures of this history are still either present or referenced in some form here.

Hale is introduced on the title page of "Excuse for Murder" with a caption that explains in part that he was "torn by an insatiable greed for money and power… a greed which drove him on from larceny to calculated murder in an effort to build up a fast dynasty of liquor and oil… an empire toward which Bill Hale strived and climbed over the bodies of his innocent victims… The King of the Murderers profited by death, using insurance as an excuse for murder… and an inheritance of a million-dollar bed of oil lakes as the basis for a series of deaths which brought him ever closer to acquiring the black gold."

Early in the story, Hale's method of cheating the Osage via his general store and life insurance schemes is established. The story also includes a scene of him burning down a house to collect on the insurance of the murdered occupants.  In one curious and notable change from the history, Hale's nephew Ernest Burkhart has been replaced by a cousin named George, who otherwise takes on Burkhart's role in the saga. A story moment designed to explain the family murder and inheritance scheme, establishes that cousin George is married to "one of the Kile family."  This is a misspelled reference to Mollie Kyle Burkhart, who otherwise does not appear in the story.  Mollie's sister Anna Kyle Brown appears in a single panel — where she is shot by John Ramsey. This appears to be a story simplification to avoid introducing another character here (Anna was actually murdered by a man named Kelsie Morrison). More accurately, Ramsey is subsequently shown murdering Henry Roan two panels after Roan is introduced as suspicious of Hale's machinations.  In the end, Hale's increasingly complex schemes begin to collapse on him, and he is shown in prison after having been investigated by the FBI.

Like most Star Publications material, this story was a reprint acquired from another publisher and packaged with a new L.B. Cole cover for the newsstands.  It originally appeared in Fox's Murder Incorporated #14, and was reprinted again by Star in All-Famous Police Cases #16.  The artist and writer of this story are unknown. Crime-Fighting Detective #19 is typically sought after for its cover by Cole, but the inclusion of the historically important "Excuse for Murder" story should bring this issue to greater attention.  A Pre-Code Crime comic of surprising historical importance, there's a Crime-Fighting Detective #19 (Star Publications, 1952) CGC FN 6.0 Off-white pages copy up for auction in the 2025 July 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction at Heritage Auctions. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information by checking out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.

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