Classics Illustrated #172

Classics Illustrated brings John Buchan's pulse-quickening spy thriller The 39 Steps to vivid comic life in this 2012 entry, No. 172 in the long-running series dedicated to the world's greatest literature. The cover — rendered and colored by Jim Lavery and Jaak Jarve — dominates with a massive steam locomotive bearing down through billowing clouds of smoke and vapor, while a lone figure in a purple suit and hat stands at the trackside, dwarfed by the oncoming iron giant. It's a striking image that perfectly captures the tension and motion at the heart of Buchan's classic chase story.