Showcase #56

DC's Showcase #56 from 1965 pairs two of the publisher's most visually distinct heroes — the golden-helmeted Doctor Fate and the hourly-powered Hourman — against a genuinely unsettling threat. Murphy Anderson's cover depicts the Psycho-Pirate looming large at center, his emotion-controlling masks swirling around him while both heroes strain against his influence, their own speech bubbles confessing that neither magic nor super-charged strength seems to be working. It's a compelling setup for "Perils of the Psycho-Pirate," and a fine showcase for Anderson's clean, expressive Silver Age linework on both pencils and inks.