Joker Comics #36

The gag on this March 1949 cover says it all: a fast-talking salesman grins sheepishly as a blonde woman demands to know why the television set he just sold her only gets one station — while a kid is literally crammed inside the cabinet doing the "broadcasting," with another pair of legs sticking out the back. It's the kind of sharp, timing-perfect humor that made Marvel's humor anthology Joker Comics — home to Millie, Hedy, and Tessie — such a reliable laugh for postwar readers. At a dime a copy and an "All Sales Final" sign taped to the set, this issue captures the era's TV craze with a wonderfully absurd twist.