Black Diamond Western #18

This April 1950 issue of Black Diamond Western delivers a pulse-pounding cover by Charles Biro, showing the masked hero Black Diamond riding hard alongside a massive oncoming locomotive, arm outstretched in a desperate bid to halt it — while speech bubbles warn that the train is packed with dynamite and the bridge ahead is down. The stakes couldn't be clearer, with bystanders' hats scattered on the ground and a villain lurking at the corner of the frame, making this a wonderfully tense piece of Western action art. A generous 52-page package featuring two full-length Black Diamond stories — including "The Railroad War" — this Lev Gleason publication is a fine example of the genre firing on all cylinders.