Li'l Genius #45

This Charlton charmer from 1963 puts a delightful spin on child prodigy humor: the cover by Jon D'Agostino shows Li'l Genius — a red-haired, bespectacled youngster — locked in a serious game of checkers against the family dog, while a pipe-smoking teen onlooker marvels, "Now there is a smart dog!" The kid's deadpan comeback — that he's already beaten the pup two out of three games — lands with perfectly timed comic confidence. With Joe Gill's writing and D'Agostino's clean, expressive linework inside, this 12-cent issue delivers the kind of gentle, clever fun that made Charlton's humor titles a treat throughout the era.