Crime Comics
My introduction to film noir actually came not through film bit through cheap crime comics. Presumably out-of-date and unsold, they were shipped to the UK as ballast from American ports in the 1950s and early 60s where they appeared in UK newsagents months/years out of date - but very cheap and good quality, where they were then usually sold as an unloved stack in a corner away from the British newspapers and magazines. Polluted by strange comic books featuring creepy men-in-tights, it took a while to sift through them, but it was well worth the time spent. I would gather together my stash and return home on a saturday morning to read them whilst awaiting lunch and the start of tha afternoon sport on television - a programme called Grandstand which usually started with some minority sport like Ice Hockey or Show Jumping and then finished with a thumping good game of Rugby League.
My own introduction to crime comics came AFTER the Wertham Commission which destroyed EC Comics. Some enterprising people in the US had hoovered up unsold and second-hand comic books that had fallen foul of the US prohibition and sent them on to England, where presumably we were less likely to be corrupted than innocent Americans.
It was then I discovered the delights of magazines like Crimes by Women:
and :
not to mention:
Crime comics have continued to survive of course with modern-day avatars such as Sin City, Ms Tree and 100 Bullets - but nothing quite works for me other than the golden age of the crime comic universe.
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