Tales of the Unexpected #48

The cover of this 1960 DC anthology issue pulls you right into a tense sci-fi standoff: Space Ranger and his companions scramble in alarm as a massive, shadowy creature — invisible to them but looming unmistakably on the cover — clutches a small alien figure named Cryll, while energy blasts erupt from the alien ground around them. Bob Brown's cover art captures that perfect Silver Age blend of outer-space wonder and genuine menace, with the caption "Space Ranger Battles The Beast from the Invisible World!" promising plenty of pulse-quickening adventure within. At just ten cents, Tales of the Unexpected #48 is a fine example of DC's early 1960s science-fiction storytelling at its most imaginative.