Li'l Genius #26

This cheerful 1960 Charlton charmer captures the little beret-wearing Li'l Genius in full artistic mode, gleefully painting childlike drawings — a sailboat, a stick-figure dad, and a little dog labeled "PAL" — directly onto the freshly yellow-painted side of a house, much to the dismay of the exasperated adult balanced on a stepladder behind him, paintbrush in hand. Frank Johnson's cover art delivers that perfect mix of kid mischief and parental woe that made funny-animal and humor comics such a delight in 1960. At just a dime, this issue even teases a contest to win TWA round trips to Disneyland or New York — a snapshot of an era when comics came packed with fun at every turn.