Smash Comics #56

Smash Comics #56 from December 1944 delivers a genuinely striking image: a hangman's noose frames the alarmed faces of Midnight — masked, wide-brimmed hat and all — alongside his white-haired female companion and a wide-eyed little monkey, all staring out with palpable unease. The cover text promises it's "no joke" when Midnight and his pals meet The Laughing Killer, and that rope loop gives the threat a real sense of weight. Bill Quackenbush's crisp linework pulls the trio together into a tight, tension-filled composition that makes this Quality Comics entry hard to put down.