Super Comics #116

Dell's Super Comics #116 from 1948 shines a spotlight on the beloved newspaper strip character Smokey Stover, whose grinning, gap-toothed face dominates this cheerful cover by Bill Holman. Decked out in his signature red outfit and striped jester-style hat, Smokey clutches a microphone in one hand and a bizarre contraption — a prickly cactus rigged up as a "Sox-O Phone" — in the other, radiating pure comedic energy. It's a wonderfully absurd snapshot of the humor that made this anthology title such a delight for mid-century comics fans.