Marvel Mystery Comics #41

A vivid piece of 1943 wartime comics energy, this issue of Marvel Mystery Comics features a cover by Alex Schomburg that puts two blazing, flame-wreathed figures — almost certainly the Human Torch and a companion — storming what is labeled the "Japanese High Command," sending uniformed soldiers scattering in panic. An "Invasion Map of Australia" tumbles to the floor amid the chaos, making the stakes unmistakably clear. Schomburg's densely packed, kinetic composition captures the full-throttle patriotic spirit that made Marvel Mystery Comics one of the defining anthology titles of the war years.