Captain Marvel Adventures #141

This February 1953 Fawcett issue presents one of the more poignant images in the Big Red Cheese's long run: Captain Marvel sits hunched and forlorn on a barren asteroid, chin resting in his hands, holding a sign reading "The Man Without a World" while a swirling galaxy stretches behind him in the cosmic void. The cover copy poses the tantalizing question of whether the World's Mightiest Man has truly been exiled from the entire known universe — a striking sight for a hero usually brimming with confidence. With Kurt Schaffenberger's clean, expressive linework setting the mood and the promise of "more pages of stories" inside, issue #141 is a fine snapshot of Golden Age superhero storytelling at its most imaginative.