Number 703

Kirby Krimes: The Spiritualist Racket

In my collection I have more than one Jack Kirby-Joe Simon crime story featuring women who have been led astray. In 1947, when Headline Comics #27 was published, the general thinking was that women weren't really criminals. It was those bad men who turned good women into crooks.

I've got a bridge I can sell you at a discount, too.

The first line in this story, "The Spirit Swindlers," is laughable: "A great many spiritualists in this country are on the level." Then the story goes on to explain techniques for duping the gullible.

This is the time to admit I was in a séance 35 years ago, conducted by a "medium" who admitted up front he was a trickster. But something happened to me in that séance, something I've never been able to explain. Even the medium was mystified because to that point no one was taking it serious; we were all just having fun at a party. But at no time did he try to dupe me into giving him money. It'd take more than a ghost in the room to make me part with ca$h.