The Barker #10

This Winter 1948 Quality Comics issue brings the carnival world's favorite showman back for a full 52 pages of mischief, this time promising a confrontation with "Pistachio, the Swindling Cave Man." The cover, illustrated and inked by Klaus Nordling, sets a wonderfully comic tone: a heavyset woman in a red dress steps onto a carnival "Your Weight and Fortune" scale, looking startled as a grinning, pinstriped fellow peeks around the back — and the fortune ticket reading "You're Too Fat for Me!" tells you everything about his character. It's the kind of breezy, good-humored carny humor that made The Barker a genuinely fun read in its era.