Super Comics #81

Super Comics #81 brings Dell's beloved anthology package to February 1945 with Dick Tracy front and center, as the square-jawed detective in his signature yellow coat and hat grapples with a villain in the foreground while two more menacing figures loom near a vehicle in the background. The cover's kinetic brawl captures exactly the hard-boiled crime-fighting energy that made Dick Tracy the headlining act here, with banner portraits of Smitty, Tiny Tim, Harold Teen, and Winnie Winkle reminding readers of the full lineup of strips waiting inside. At a dime a copy in 1945, this is a wonderfully compact time capsule of wartime American comics at their most entertaining.