Gene Autry Comics #18

This August 1948 Dell issue features a striking photo cover of Gene Autry himself — dressed in a floral western shirt, white hat, and double gun belt — leaning casually against a hay wagon wheel with a cool, thoughtful expression. The real-life singing cowboy's presence gives the book an immediate authenticity that pure illustration simply can't match. Inside, Jesse Marsh brings his pencils and inks to "Gene Autry and the Raiders of Silver Valley," promising the kind of frontier adventure that made this series a staple of 1948 newsstands.