Four Color #956

This 1958 Dell publication captures teen idol Ricky Nelson across three photo images on its cover — a close-up portrait showing his trademark good looks and easy smile, a performance shot with him at a microphone and guitar, and an action pose that hints at the athletic energy promised by the tagline "Ricky wins with ROCK AND ROLL!" At a dime a copy, it's a wonderfully earnest time capsule of late-1950s pop culture, blending the worlds of music and comics for fans of the era. The story "Rock and Roll Knockout" sounds like exactly the kind of breezy adventure a young crossover star like Nelson would headline.