Magnus, Robot Fighter #29

This November 1971 Gold Key issue puts Magnus front and center in a high-energy confrontation set inside a futuristic control room, where he hurls a caped, masked villain — the evil Xyrkol — while an explosion bursts at his side from a flame-throwing robot crouching nearby. The cover tagline promises Magnus is "trapped on a monstrous planet," and the image delivers that sense of defiant, outnumbered heroism with real flair, courtesy of cover art by Russ Manning and Mike Royer. A great snapshot of the series at its action-packed best, with Manning also writing and drawing the interior story, "The Power of the One Thousand.