Captain Marvel Jr. #102

This October 1951 Fawcett issue presents a delightfully offbeat scenario right on the cover: a turbaned, heavyset genie clutches a golden lamp — wisps of smoke still curling from its spout — while a scroll announces "Captain Marvel Jr. — Slave of the Genie." Captain Marvel Jr. himself stands cool and arms-crossed in the background, his blue-and-gold uniform crisp and his cape billowing, looking decidedly unbothered for someone supposedly under a genie's thumb. Cover artist Bud Thompson brings a playful energy to the whole scene, making this a charming snapshot of the imaginative, anything-goes spirit that made Fawcett's superhero line such fun in the early 1950s.