Adventure Magazine, January 3, 1921

Adventure magazine's cover features a swashbuckling figure in exotic costume—feathered turban, double-breasted coat, and loose trousers—posed with drawn sword against a white background. The bold Art Deco lettering of the masthead dominates the upper half, announcing "Published Twice a Month" and a 25-cent price. The illustration showcases the hand-painted style typical of pulp covers from this era. Adventure, founded in 1910, epitomized the pulp magazine industry's core appeal: serialized tales of far-flung adventure, exploration, and combat. These wood-pulp publications, sold at newsstands for pocket change, reached millions of readers and established visual and narrative conventions that would directly influence comic books emerging in the following decade. The cover's exotic setting and action-ready protagonist exemplify the genre's formula of distant lands and heroic adventure.