Challengers of the Unknown #26

Trapped in a blind canyon with no escape route, three members of the Challengers of the Unknown face down a massive, scaly Aqua-Beast that's hurling steam blasts straight at them — and Bob Brown's cover art captures every desperate, wide-eyed moment of that standoff with real menace. This July 1962 DC issue promises two features, including "Death Crowns the Challenger King," suggesting the team's daring lifestyle is about to exact a serious cost. If you love science-adventure comics where the stakes feel genuinely impossible, this is a fine example of the era's imaginative best.