Showcase #24

From February 1960, this tenth-cent DC gem showcases Hal Jordan's Green Lantern in a desperate struggle against a massive pink creature whose yellow eye-beams are draining his ring's power — a chilling weakness rendered vividly by cover artist Gil Kane and inker Joe Giella against a bridge-side cityscape. The cover's speech bubble captures the hero's alarming vulnerability perfectly, and the bottom banner teases "The Creature That Couldn't Die!" alongside the interior story "The Secret of the Black Museum!" by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane. It's a wonderfully tense snapshot of Silver Age superhero storytelling at its most imaginative.