Leverett Gleason

Lev Gleason Incorporated, formerly known as Lev Gleason Publishing, is a Canadian comic book company founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971). They were 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''. In 2021, Lev Gleason was revived by Fadi Hakim, and acquired the former Chapterhouse Comics and characters from Anglo-American Publishing.

Background

Lev Gleason Publications was an influential comic book publisher active from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s. Founded by Leverett Stone Gleason, a pioneer in the comic book industry, the company was best known for its crime comics, particularly the best-selling series Crime Does Not Pay (1942–1955). Gleason began his publishing career after working with Charles Max Gaines at Eastern Color Printing, which played a significant role in the early days of comic books. He labelled some of his books ""illustories"" to suggest they were a new, unique form.

Gleason had a keen eye for talent, hiring notable creators such as Jack Cole and Charles Biro. Biro was instrumental in shaping the company’s creative direction. Gleason and Biro worked on various genres, including superhero, mystery, romance, comedy, western, and children's comics, reflecting their readership's diverse interests.

Gleason's career began in 1931 as an artist and advertising director for Open Road for Boys magazine. From 1932 to around 1934, he served as advertising manager under Harry Wildenberg at Eastern Color Printing, which became a comics-publishing pioneer in 1933 with the first American comic books. Gleason later worked as an editor at United Feature, where he launched Tip Top Comics in 1936. He then became business manager at Your Guide Publications, affiliated with Gilmor's Friday, Inc. and New Friday, Inc.

Around 1942, Gleason, then treasurer of New Friday,Lev Gleason: Your Guide Publications, Inc. (Indicia Publisher)
at the Grand Comics Database. ""Your Guide Publications, Inc. is not an actual division of Lev Gleason. It was a company owned by Arthur Bernard and Morris Latzen which published comics in 1939–1941, and in 1946.""Lev Gleason: New Friday Publications, Inc. (Indicia Publisher)
at the Grand Comics Database purchased the comic book series Silver Streak Comics and Daredevil Comics from the company. Under the imprint Comic House Inc., Gleason continued Silver Streak Comics with a crime comic, Crime Does Not Pay, which premiered with issue #22 in July 1942. That year, Gleason briefly published the left-wing political magazine Reader's Choice.

The success of Crime Does Not Pay led to numerous imitators and increased criticism of comic books' influence. This pressure resulted in the formation of the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) in 1948 to avoid external regulation, with Gleason as a founding member. The ACMP was the precursor to the Comics Code Authority, established in 1954.

In April 1949, Lev Gleason Publications, then located at 114 East 32nd Street in Manhattan, began publishing Tops, a comics magazine for adults. Despite its commercial success, Gleason's career was marked by controversy due to his progressive political views. As a member of the Communist Party in the 1930s, Gleason used his platform to promote social justice issues, making him a target during the post-WWII anti-communist campaigns, which contributed to the decline of his business.

Lev Gleason Publications went out of business in 1956. Its final publications were the teen-humor comic Jim Dandy #3 (Sept. 1956) and the children's Western comedy Shorty Shiner #3 (Oct. 1956), both published under the imprint Dandy Magazines Inc.

Revival

Lev Gleason Incorporated emerged as a new entity, spearheaded by Fadi Hakim, then CEO of Chapterhouse Comics. They introduced several imprints: Comic House, Comic House Archives, Lev Gleason Library, and New Friday. These imprints manage distribution through Diamond Comics, Diamond Books, and Ingram Content Group.

Lev Gleason Incorporated debuted in 2020 with the release of "American Daredevil," a comprehensive biography of Lev Gleason published by Chapterhouse Publishing and authored by Brett Dakin, Gleason’s great-nephew. The biography delves into Gleason's life and his role as a progressive activist, drawing from family archives and FBI files.

The Lev Gleason Library, inspired by Gleason’s eponymous imprint, focuses on prose works. Its first release, "Death Takes Centre Stage featuring Daredevil" by D.K. Latta, was launched in April 2021.

New Friday serves as a platform for creator-owned books, paying homage to one of Lev Gleason’s early companies. The imprint debuted with "HΩME Volume 1" by the Michaud Brothers.

Comic House

The Comic House universe is a continuation of the Chapterhouse "Chapterverse", which ended with Captain Canuck Season 4: Invasion. It introduced modern versions of iconic Lev Gleason golden age characters, including Captain Battle, CrimebusterSilver Streak, and Daredevil. Many of the series deal with the fallout of the alien attack on Earth by The Borealis, the alien race who bestowed Captain Canuck his powers.

Characters and Creators

Personnel

*Fadi Hakim, Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Publisher
*Keith WTS Morris, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief
*Joseph Eastwood, Chief Financial Officer
*Frances Bell, Controller
*Tony White, Managing Editor
*Josh Rose, Senior Editor
*Rian Hughes, Trade Dress Design
*Cindy Leong, Production & Design
*Neil Rantala, Website & Social Media Manager, Design/Production
*Kevin King, Archives Director
*Morgan Wyatt, Funding Director
*Nader Arafat, Investor Relations
*Russell Brown, Licensing Director

Former

*Lev Gleason, Founder & President (1939–1956)
*E.A. Piller, Vice President (1945–1953) Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription
*Charles Biro, Editorial Director, Chief Writer & Cover Artist (1941–1956) Bails, Jerry G. and Hames Ware (ed.s), ''The Who's Who of American Comic Books'': Volume One, p. 31 (Bails, 1973)
*Gilbert G. Southwick, Advertising Director (1947–1948) Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription Abstract only; full article requires payment or subscription
* Richard Comely, Editor-In-Chief, Creative Director (2015–2017)
*Kalman Andrasofszky, Editor-In-Chief (2015–2020)
*George Zotti, Chief Creative Officer, Retail Manager (2015–2017)
*Walter Durajlija, Executive Editor (2015–2017)
*Ryan Wilson, Design/Production (2015–2017)
*Andrew Wheeler, Director of Marketing (2017–2019)
*Jay Baruchel, Chief Creative Officer (2017–2020)
*Andrew Thomas, Social Media Manager & Fan Relations (2020–2024)

Notable Contributors

*Ruth Atkinson (Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loves Girl)
* Jack Cole (The Claw, Daredevil)
*Jack Binder (Daredevil, Captain Battle, Silver Streak)
*Charles Biro (Crimebuster, Little Wise Guys)
* Fred Kida (Crime Does Not Pay, Boy Loves Girl)
*William Overgard (Black Diamond)
*Don Rico (Daredevil)
*Joe Simon (Silver Streak)
* Bob Wood (Crimebuster)
*Kalman Andrasofszky (Captain Canuck)
*Jay Baruchel (Captain Canuck)
*Leonard Kirk (Captain Canuck)
*Jason Loo (The Pitiful Human-Lizard)
*Van Jensen (Captain Canuck)

List of Lev Gleason Publications titles

Comic House

*''Captain Canuck'' (2015–Present)
**''Captain Canuck: Year One'' (2017)
*''The Pitiful Human-Lizard'' (2015–2018)
*''Northguard'' (2016–Present)
*''Agents of P.A.C.T.'' (2017)
*''Fantomah'' (2017–Present)
*''Freelance'' (2017–Present)
*''Fallen Suns'' (2017–Present)
*''Canuck Beyond'' (2020–Present)
*''Captain Battle'' (2020–Present)
*''""The Greatest Name in Comics"" Daredevil'' (2021 – Present)
*''Silver Streak'' (2021 – Present)
*''Equilibrium'' (2022 – Present)
*''West Coast Canuck'' (2023 – Present)
*''Crimebuster'' (2023 – Present)
*''PACT Academy'' (Upcoming)
*''Paradox Arms'' (Upcoming)
*''Pirate Prince Sabre'' (Upcoming)
*''The Deadly Dozen'' (Upcoming)
*''Young Robinhood'' (Upcoming)
*''Star Rise'' (Upcoming)
*''Kane's Crusaders'' (Upcoming)
*''Crime: The Casefiles of Dr. Destine'' (Upcoming)
*''The Completely Ordinary Family Hale'' (Upcoming)

New Friday

*''Fantomesque''
*''Hero Business Compendium''
*''1903 Manhunt''
*''Red Leaves''
*''Frog Boy''
*''The Pursuer''
*''Scratcher''
*''The 5100''
*''Home''
*''The Fourth Planet''
*''Celery Stalks''
*''Minerva's Map''
*''Blood & Motor Oil''
*''Frankenaut''
*''5 Hundred''
*''Eki''
*''I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp''
*''Pieces of Hate''
*''Overshare'' (Upcoming)
*''Black Sheep'' (Upcoming)
*''Good Bastard'' (Upcoming)
*''Nash'' (Upcoming)

Lev Gleason Library

Non-Fiction
*''American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason'' (2021 Eisner nominated for Best Comics-Related Book)
*''Charles Biro Legacy'' (Upcoming)
Fiction
*''Death Takes Center Stage: A Lev Gleason Daredevil Novel''
*''The ""I"" of the Needle: A Captain Canuck Novel''
*''Deadly Waters: A Silver Streak Novel''

Golden Age Archives

*''Adventures in Wonderland'' (1955–1956) 5 Issues
*''Black Diamond Western'' (1949–1956) 52 Issues
*''Boy Comics'' (1942–1956) 117 Issues
**''Giant Boy Book of Comics'' (1945) 1 Issue
**''Squeeks'' (1953–1954) 5 Issues
*''Boy Loves Girl'' (1952–1956) 33 Issues
*''Boy Meets Girl'' (1950–1952) 24 Issues
*''Buster Crabbe'' (1953–1954) 4 Issues
*''Captain Battle Comics'' (1941) 2 Issues
*''Captain Battle Jr.'' (1943–1944) 2 Issues
*''Crime and Penalty'' (1948) 1 Issues
*''Crime and Punishment'' (1948–1955) 74 Issues
*'' Crime Does Not Pay'' (1942–1955) 126 Issues
**''Crime Does Not Pay Annual'' (1953) 1 Issue
**''Best of Crime Does Not Pay'' (1944–1952) 2 Issues
*''Cutie Pie'' (1955–1956) 5 Issues
*'' Daredevil Comics'' (1941–1956) 134 Issues
**''Dilly'' (1953) 3 Issues
**''Slugger'' (1956) 1 Issue
*''Desperado'' (1948–1949) 8 Issues
*''Dime Comics'' (1946) 1 Issue
*''Fun Yearbook'' (1945) 2 Issues
*''Horsefeathers'' (1947–1948) 4 Issues
*''Jim Dandy'' (1956) 3 Issues
*''Lovers' Lane'' (1949–1954) 41 Issues
*''Shorty Shiner'' (1956) 3 Issues
*''Silver Streak Comics'' (1939–1946) 23 Issues
*''Spooky Mysteries'' (1946) 1 Issue
*''Tops'' (1949) 2 Issues
*''Uncle Charlie's Fables'' (1952) 5 Issues

Lev Gleason Studios

Web Series

Captain Canuck: The Web Series

The first season was a 5-part series that debuted on July 1, 2013 and featured Captain Cancuk (Kris Holden-Ried), aided by Redcoat (Tatiana Maslany) and Horse Wilson (Mark Meer) attempting to defeat Mr. Gold (Paul Amos) and Bluefox (Laura Vandervoort). The series featured cameos by Richard Comely and Ajay Fry.

A second season debuted on February 14, 2016, but only lasted a single episode and was left on a cliffhanger.

Illustories

Illustories is a series of motion comics featuring Captain Canuck, Daredevil, Silver Streak, and Crimebuster.

Television Series

Animated

Camp Canuck

Camp Canuck is an upcoming animated series that is a reimagining of the Comic House Universe as a summer camp for the world's future heroes and villains, with Captain Canuck and Mr. Gold as camp councillors. The project will be produced along with Little Blackstone Studios and Big Studios.

Live-action

Several live-action television shows are currently in production including Captain Canuck, Freelance, and Fantomah.

Films

Going In

Going In was released in 2023 and starred Ira Goldman and Evan Rissi, who also directed it. Two former best friends, Leslie and Reuben, are forced to reconnect when their city is flooded with a dangerous new drug, compelling them to infiltrate a deadly underground network to survive.

Upcoming

Two upcoming films are in production based on the New Friday books The Pursuer and Red Leaves.

References

External links

Lev Gleason Publications
at Grand Comics Database
*

Lev Gleason's Comic House
* Kent Worcester’s book review for ''The Comics Journal'' (15 July 2020) of Brett Dakin’s “American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and The Battles of Lev Gleason”

{{GoldenAge

Comic book publishing companies of Canada
Defunct comics and manga publishing companies