George Tuska, who early in his career used a variety of pen names including Carl Larson, was an American comic book and newspaper comic strip artist best known for his 1940s work on various Captain Marvel titles and the crime fiction series Crime Does Not Pay and for his 1960s work illustrating Iron Man and other Marvel Comics characters. He also drew the DC Comics newspaper comic strip The World's Greatest Superheroes from 1978–1982.
Tuska in the 1960s
Tuska's cover of Iron Man #18 (Oct. 1969) displays a panoply of character faces, as well as both old and new Iron Man armors.
Crime Does Not Pay (comics)
Crime Does Not Pay is an American comic book series published between 1942 and 1955 by Lev Gleason Publications. Edited and chiefly written by Charles Biro, the title launched the crime comics genre and was the first "true crime" comic book series. At the height of its popularity, Crime Does Not Pay would claim a readership of six million on its covers. The series' sensationalized recountings of the deeds of gangsters such as Baby Face Nelson and Machine Gun Kelly were illustrated by artists Bob Wood, George Tuska, and others. Stories were often introduced and commented upon by "Mr. Crime", a ghoulish figure in a top hat, and the precursor of horror hosts such as EC Comics's The Crypt Keeper. According to Gerard Jones, Crime Does Not Pay was "the first nonhumor comic to rival the superheroes in sales, the first to open the comic book market to large numbers of late adolescent and young males."
Electrocution cover, issue 42
Cover of Crime and Punishment #1 (April 1948) by Charles Biro.
Splash panel from Crime Does Not Pay number 55, September 1947. Artwork by Dan Barry.
Justice Traps the Guilty number 7 (Prize Comics, November 1947). Artwork by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.