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Wagon Train #5, 1960 - Like many Dell Publishing issues during the 1950s and 1960s, this western series coincided with a network television show. The photographic cover features lead actors Ward Bond and Robert Horton. Inside, Alex Toth's short story is the smallest contribution, sandwiched between two main features. His hurried, loosely rendered drawings lack much needed definition. Backgrounds

War Comics v2 #43, 1956 - Armed only with the enemy's cannons, an American platoon holds out against an onslaught of Communist Korean soldiers. The drawings are not quite as loose as other Angelo Torres works, and have more clarity than usual. While adequately rendered overall, the opening title panel looks too spare and quiet for the start of a desperate battle. While recognizable, Torres' art

Dead of Night #11, 1975 - The Scarecrow makes his first appearance in the last issue of this Marvel horror title, previously a vehicle for Atlas reprints. Unlike DC's villainous counterpart, this character is one of several monster/heroes introduced during the bronze age. Bernie Wrightson inks over Gil Kane's pencils on the cover, but unfortunately doesn't meet expectations. His brushwork on the

Mister Miracle #7, 1972 - Jack Kirby's convoluted cover is further marred by the colorist, who inexplicably adds red outlines to Mister Miracle's eyes and lips. The resulting clownish face looks almost minstrel-like. Inside, the artist compensates for it with three bold splash pages and a panoramic double page spread. While only adequately paced, there are several painstakingly detailed panels (

Sugar Bowl Comics #3, 1948 - While artistically superior to the other stories within the same issue, Alex Toth nonetheless struggles with some of the basics. Figure drawing, foreshortening and even basic composition are lacking here, but these skills would be finely tuned in subsequent years. One revealing highlight of this story is his early inclination toward heaving inking. He shows an