Tops: The Complete Collection of Charles Biro’s Visionary 1949 Comic Book Series

Before EC, before His Name is…Savage!, before underground comix, this volume collects a pioneering attempt ― from the creators of the first true crime comic ― to publish stories aimed at adults in the comic book format.

From their inception in 1935, comic books ― starring Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel ― had been primarily written for and aimed at adolescents. There were always the occasional outlier artists who pushed back against the commercial constraints of comic books and envisioned the next evolutionary artistic leap in the artform: Charles Biro was one of those artists.
In 1949, the ambitious Biro ― who had previously co-created the realistically brutal comic Crime Does Not Pay ― edited and wrote an oversized comic aimed at adults, called Tops. Like several other radical adult comics projects that would follow, it proved to be a commercial failure and lasted only two Life magazine-sized issues. The original comics have since become a legendary holy grail among comics fans and historians, fetching as much as $6,000 on the collector's market: written about but rarely seen and never reprinted. Until now.
Fantagraphics' Tops collects both issues of these oversized experimental comics in their entirety. Some of the best craftsmen working in comics at that time drew these pulpy, sexy, and melodramatic stories: Dan Barry, George Tuska, and others. It includes two stunning pre-EC crime tales illustrated by Reed Crandall, reminiscent of his Crime SuspenStories work. Actor Melvyn Douglas (believe it or not) takes the reader on a tour of utopia, entitled "How Would You Live Under A World Government?" ― a positive spin on global Socialism!
A treasure trove of fascinating and revelatory comics history for scholars and fans, this compilation includes an introduction by the editor, the historian and cartoonist Michael T. Gilbert, as well as several other essays providing background on the creation of the series and the publisher, editors, and cartoonists who realized it. It includes a chronicle in essay form of experimental, adult comics endeavors throughout the first half of the 20th century. Tops is a landmark work of historical importance and a mind-boggling reading experience from a bygone era meticulously restored and reproduced in a deluxe hardcover in its originally published dimensions. Full-color illustrations throughout

Charles Biro (1911-1972) was one of the early creative pioneers of the comic book industry. He was instrumental in ushering in the crime genre in 1942 with Crime Does Not Pay, an unusually gritty series that became a target of the anti-comics hysteria of the '40s and '50s. His longest professional affiliation was with the forward-thinking Lev Gleason Publications, for whom he edited Daredevil (not THAT Daredevil), Crime Does Not Pay and, in 1949, an experiment to produce comics for an adult readership, Tops.

Michael T. Gilbert has been a professional cartoonist since 1973, writing and drawing characters as diverse as Superman and Spongebob Squarepants. Gilbert's signature character remains his creature fighting hero, Mr. Monster, which he created in 1983. Additionally, Michael has written a comic history column for Roy Thomas’s Alter Ego magazine since 1998, and has edited Dark Horse's 2014 The Secret Files of Dr. Drew reprint volume. He lives in Akron, OH.