Tops: The Complete Collection of Charles Biro’s Visionary 1949 Comic Book Series

This beautifully designed and thoroughly researched account collects an experiment in comics history, when writer and cartoonist Biro (Crime Does Not Pay) launched a bold, new kind of comics magazine in 1949, one that would speak to adults instead of children: Tops, a 64-page oversize comics magazine whose stories covered topics such as romance, politics, crime, and history. These “Illustories” were drawn by luminaries like Reed Crandall and George Tuska. Examples include “Our Explosive Children,” a melodrama featuring gambling, drinking, and unwanted pregnancy, all in a flimsy effort to connect vice to divorce. “The 9 Lives of Citizen Train” was an adaptation of a biography of the strange 19th-century industrialist George Francis Train. Stories such as “The Closet” weren’t much different from Biro’s crime comics (in fact, that piece was adapted from one of his earlier Daredevil stories). There were gag interludes, bits about models, and even an earnest attempt at advocating for one world government. Though a brave venture, its execution often missed the mark, with a tone that comes across as either sensationalistic or hectoring. Contemporary essays reflect the work’s status as a curiosity in the halting history of breaking comics out of its low-art roots. In trying to appeal to the widest possible adult audience, Tops didn’t appeal to anyone in particular, but this publication enshrines its place in history. (Mar.)