Battle Action #26

This December 1956 Atlas/Marvel war anthology delivers three tantalizing story teasers on a single tense cover — "The Hostages?", "The Raiders Attack!", and "The Sacrifice!" — promising a full issue of combat drama. John Severin's cover art drops the reader right into the action: a helmeted soldier charges through a shadowy, barbed-wire-lined corridor, rifle at the ready, while a group of grim-faced prisoners huddles in the background, loomed over by the enormous silhouetted legs of an imposing figure. At ten cents, this was an outstanding deal for fans of gritty, atmospheric war comics in 1956.