Joe Palooka Comics #67

Cold War tension crackles across this April 1952 Harvey Comics cover, with Al Avison's artwork depicting a dramatic struggle as Joe Palooka grapples with a Communist soldier while a sinister figure in green crouches nearby, threatening a kneeling, helpless Humphrey with what the speech balloon reveals is a third injection of truth drug. The cover blurb — "The Reds Torture Humphrey!" — sets the stakes in no uncertain terms, promising the kind of pulse-quickening intrigue that kept Ham Fisher's beloved boxing champion relevant well beyond the ring. It's a striking snapshot of early-1950s adventure comics, where geopolitical fears found their way into every corner of popular culture.