Star Spangled Comics #52

From January 1946, this DC ten-center drops the Newsboy Legion and the Guardian right into theatrical chaos — the cover by Jack Kirby (inked by Steve Brodie) stages a brawl on what appears to be a theater stage, where the caped, shield-bearing Guardian trades blows with costumed figures in Roman-style armor while the kids scramble and scrap around him, a suspicious bag dangling from the archway above. The story title "Rehearsal for Crime!" promises that the drama unfolding behind the curtain is anything but make-believe. It's a lively, kinetic Kirby composition that captures the scrappy energy these characters brought to postwar adventure comics.