The crime genre has long been a part of comics, presenting capers rife with twists and turns, detectives who track down crime bosses and thugs, and tales of audacious thefts. Many are morality stories about the dangers and consequences of committing crimes, while others follow criminals on daring heists. Whatever the tone of the story, crime comics have been entertaining readers for generations.

In each edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, Robert M. Overstreet examines the values of crime comics to assess which issues are the most valuable in the secondary market. Below is the list of the top 10 crime books as reported 20 years agon in 2005’s the Guide #35.

#1 – Crime Does Not Pay #22 – $3,400
#2 – True Crime Comics #2 – $1,900
#3 – Crime Does Not Pay #23 – $1,750
#4 – Crimes By Women #1 – $1,600
#5 – The Killers #1 – $1,400
#5 – True Crime Comics #3 – $1,400
#7 – Crime Does Not Pay #24 – $1,375
#8 – True Crimes Comics #4 – $1,225
#9 – The Killers #2 – $1,150
#10 – Crime Smashers #1 – $1,125