Black Diamond Western #9

The masked Black Diamond rides confidently on horseback through the frontier town of Junction, declaring to its citizens that he'll always protect them from lawlessness — while an admiring crowd of townsfolk reacts with palpable relief in the streets below. Charles Biro's cover art captures that satisfying moment when a U.S. Marshal arrives just in time, with speech bubbles crediting the Black Diamond for bringing down the notorious Jeff Hawkins and his gang. Packed with a full 52 pages of illustrated stories and a $1,500 Lev Gleason prize contest announced right on the cover, this 1949 issue is a fine example of the era's frontier adventure comics at their most entertaining.