Blackhawk #177

This October 1962 DC issue promises an "astounding 2-part story" with "Menace of the Alien Earthlings," and the cover by Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff delivers an immediately arresting scene: a figure standing atop a raised platform is caught in a beam of light from a menacing green machine, his head now transformed into that of a green-skinned alien, while horrified Blackhawk teammates below cry out that they're too late — Blackhawk has been changed into an alien. Green-skinned extraterrestrials in purple uniforms flank the strange device, making it clear the Blackhawk Squadron is up against a genuinely unsettling sci-fi threat. Writer Arnold Drake and artist Dick Dillin bring the kind of imaginative, pulpy energy that made early-'60s DC adventure comics such a distinctive ride.