Superman #114

From 1957, this ten-cent DC gem features Al Plastino's striking cover of Superman squaring off against a massive green dragon-like creature, with a glowing multi-faceted "Rainbow" gem on the ground between them. Superman's speech bubble makes clear the stakes — he needs that gem back on Earth within the hour or face a billion-dollar debt — lending the scene an urgency that goes beyond a simple monster brawl. Inside, Jerry Coleman's script and Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye's artwork bring the featured story, "The Soundproof Superman," to life in the reliable, sturdy style that defined the Man of Steel in the Silver Age.