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Mister Miracle #8, 1972 - The last of the 52 pagers in this series, Jack Kirby's art continues to entertain and delight. His two full page splashes and roomy panels are this time overshadowed by one of his best double page spreads. Upon entering the barracks of the Female Fury Battalion, Big Barda witnesses a chaotic array of woman warriors. Kirby's complex layout is perfectly balanced with a

Ka-zar #4, 1974 - Ka-Zar had appeared in various Marvel titles since his debut in X-men #10. After a respectable run in Astonishing Tales a few years before, the character was awarded his own self-titled book. Frank Brunner delivers this superb cover, among the best of the entire series. Mystical flames emanate from below the jungle lord, radiating out toward the other figures and filling the

Nick Fury, Agent of Shield #1, 1968 - After a respectable run as a co-feature in Strange Tales, Nick Fury graduates to his own full length series. Jim Steranko, who picked up the artistic reins on those later issues, continues as writer and illustrator. Bucking the trend of having the title character prominently enlarged on the cover, the artist opts to use building blocks as a metaphor for spy

Blue Beetle v5 #3, 1967 - The colorfully garbed villains on the cover bear a strong resemblance to The Creeper, a hero Steve Ditko would create around the same timeframe. The multitude of small panels throughout the feature story are not as bothersome as before, as the artist takes greater care of the overall page designs. The complexity and garishness of the attackers' costumes result in

Plop #5, 1973 - Basil Wolverton continues to create even more freakish characters with each subsequent issue, and this cover is no exception. Sergio Aragones' framing pages continue to enhance the series and contributes a superbly drawn tale: "The Ultmate Freedom". In Bernie Wrightson's second story for Plop, a French sculptor conceals a potion from his overbearing wife. The artist's frequent use

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 (

The Unexpected #122, 1975 - Like many DC 100 page super-spectaculars of the 1970s, this issue boasted both new and reprinted material. Nestor Redondo's contents page opens the issue with exquisite detail, depicting a pair of late night grave robbers. Equally stunning is Alex Nino's story of a slew of Satanic murders and the fortune teller who foresees them. His pacing and layout are masterful,

Andy Hardy #6, 1954 - Artfully drawn and expertly paced, Al Hubbard does an impressive job with the second issue of the regular Andy Hardy series. Unlike the previous issue, two stories begin with the expected large opening panels. The first, the untitled "fiesta queen" story, is competently designed but the second ("airport ride") seems unnecessarily sparse in the upper right area. It suggests a

Midnight Tales #11, 1975 - The lead story opens with a scene on Mount Olympus, where a youth pleads for his life before Zeus and the other gods of Greek mythology. The surroundings are resplendent in its ornate patterns and decorations. All the stories within this issue follow an ancient mythological theme, but Don Newton's illustrations are the most skillfully drawn. His fine brushwork enhances