Hopalong Cassidy #113

Here's a mid-1950s DC western that delivers a genuinely clever mystery premise: Hopalong Cassidy, dressed in his signature black hat and bandolier, stands alert beside a sundial as a companion warns him that someone is trying to stop them from finding a treasure — while a toy soldier figurine atop the dial casts a shadow revealing the gold's secret hiding place. Gene Colan and Joe Giella's cover art gives the scene real tension, with a red-jacketed figure crouching nearby and the glinting sundial taking center stage as the unlikely key to the whole puzzle. "Shadow of the Toy Soldier!" is a story that uses an inventively low-tech mystery device, and this issue makes a strong case for why Hopalong Cassidy earned his billing as America's Favorite Cowboy.