Modern Comics #88

This August 1949 issue from Quality Comics drops Blackhawk right into the thick of it — the cover by Reed Crandall (pencils) and Chuck Cuidera (inks) shows him bursting through a wooden door while a black-clad, masked figure brandishes a battle-axe amid a chaotic stone corridor crowded with armored soldiers and a grotesque little figure crouched over a steaming cauldron. The bold cover blurb promises "Blackhawk Battles a Nightmare of Terror!" and the scene delivers on every word, with Crandall and Cuidera's crisp linework giving the whole brawl a kinetic, pulp-adventure energy that made Modern Comics a genuine pleasure at just ten cents.