Jungle Action #21

One of the most unflinching covers Marvel published in 1976, this issue of Jungle Action places the Black Panther in immediate, visceral danger — bound by ropes to a wooden structure, surrounded by hooded Klan figures brandishing flaming torches against a blazing orange sky. Rich Buckler's pencils and John Romita's inks give the scene a raw urgency, with the Panther straining against his bonds while the tagline "Cross of Fire… Cross of Death!" and the promise that "the Panther will be their next victim" make the stakes unmistakably clear. Don McGregor's writing and Billy Graham's interior art bring serious social weight to this issue, tackling hate and resistance head-on in a mainstream superhero comic.