AMERICAN DAREDEVIL Comics, Communism and The Battles of Lev Gleason

American Daredevil is the story of Lev Gleason, a titan among comic book publishers in 1940s New York who fell victim to two of Cold War America's defining crusades: a nationwide campaign to censor comics, and the paranoia of the Red Scare. Beginning with Silver Streak and the original Daredevil--who like Captain American fought Hitler before the U.S. entered the war -- it was his team, Biro and Wood, who created Crime Does Not Pay. That title outsold every other comic in the 40s, and started the crime trend that eventually resulted in the creation of the Comics Code. Gleason actually worked for Eastern Color on the very first giveaway comics, and on the very first "real" comic, Famous Funnies. He cut his teeth in the early industry before going out on his own. Daredevil Battles Hitler (July 1941) was his first big success. And why? because he gathered together talent like Jack Cole, Charles Biro and Bob Wood, and then got out of their way to let them create. And he also shared the profits of their successs, unlike any other comics publisher. He was a progressive from the beginning, and used comics to fight against injustice while he also made a small fortune, hung out with the New York elite, and then lost it all in the fifties. "Whether it was Dr. Frederic Wertham and Seduction of the Innocent or the House Un-American Activities Committee, Gleason was always ready to take on the enemy." Author Brett Dakin, Gleason's great-nephew, opens up the family archives -- and the files of the FBI -- to take you on a journey through the publisher's life and career. Discover Gleason's rapid rise to the top of comics, unapologetic progressive activism, and sudden fall from grace. "American Daredevil pulls Lev Gleason out of the shadows of history and places him in the well-deserved spotlight as one of the founding fathers of the comic book industry." -Michael Uslan, comic book historian and film producer of Joker, Justice League and the Batman films