Smash Comics #16

Smash Comics #16 (November 1940) from Quality Comics packs a full roster of adventure into one ten-cent package, spotlighting The Ray, Bozo the Robot, Wings Wendall, and Invisible Justice in the character portraits along the left, while the main cover — rendered by Gill Fox — erupts into a tense brawl as a dark-haired hero in a torn white shirt grapples with knife-wielding opponents in close, desperate combat. The issue also features "Espionage with Black X," teasing the kind of shadowy intrigue that made 1940 pulp-influenced comics so irresistible. Manning Lee handles the interior Espionage story, "The Revenge of Bela Jat," making this a nicely packed anthology from one of Quality's most energetic titles.