Lev Gleason Publications

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

Background

Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason in 1939, 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 began his career in 1931 as an artist and advertising director for Open Road for Boys magazine. from 1932 to circa 1934, he served as advertising manager under Harry Wildenberg at Eastern Color Printing, a printer that became a comics-publishing pioneer in 1933 with the first American comic books. Becoming an editor at the newspaper syndicate United Feature, Gleason in 1936 launched the early comic book Tip Top Comics, which ran through 1938. He later became business manager at publisher Dan Gilmor's company Your Guide Publications, Inc., which was affiliated with Gilmor's Friday, Inc. and New Friday, Inc.