Lawson was a bestselling Australian comic book creator, successful commercial artist and photographer. He was also a notorious criminal, sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and murder.

Lawson created The Lone Avenger in the second issue of Action Comics in 1946. The feature ran for thirteen years and took over the comic, which sold up to 70,000 copies. Lawson also created The Hooded Rider, Diana Queen of the Apes and Peter Fury.

In 1954, Lawson took five young models to bushland in Terrey Hills to take swimsuit photos for a calendar. He sexually assaulted them and raped two. He was sentenced to death, which was commuted to 14 years in prison when the death penalty was abolished in NSW. Action Comics was subsequently banned in Queensland and withdrawn by its publisher.

Lawson was released from prison in 1961. On 7 November 1962, he sexually assaulted and murdered a 16-year-old girl whose portrait he was painting. The next day, he took hostages at the Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School, killing a 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1972, he attacked a female dancer who performed in a concert at Parramatta jail, possibly as part of an escape attempt.

Lawson died in Grafton Correctional Centre in November 2003.