Hit Comics #61

Hit Comics #61 brings readers aboard the pilot house of a Mississippi riverboat, where the confident, broad-shouldered Jeb Rivers grips a large ship's wheel with an easy grin while a young companion in a red jacket looks on with wide-eyed attention. Through the windows behind them, a grand paddle steamer churns the river under a plume of dark smoke, setting the scene for what the cover promises is "a sizzling tale of the turbulent Mississippi in its heyday." Reed Crandall's cover work captures the period's sense of adventure and romance with clean, assured linework that makes this 1949 Quality Comics issue a real pleasure to hold.