Police Comics #59

Few comics capture the sheer delight of a shape-shifting hero quite like this October 1946 issue of Police Comics, where Jack Cole's cover shows Plastic Man gleefully transformed into a giant kite — red costume spread wide as a diamond shape, sunglasses on, grinning as he soars over a suburban neighborhood while a bewildered little man in a polka-dot jacket looks up from below. The cover tagline promises that Plastic Man will be "changing the grin of the grim Mr. Happiness," teasing a villain whose name alone earns a raised eyebrow. At 60 pages for a dime, this is a wonderfully fun slice of 1946 superhero comics anchored by Cole's confident, playful linework.