The Barker #8

This Summer 1948 issue of The Barker promises "Adventure Under the Big Top," and the cover delivers exactly that kind of cheerful circus chaos. A muscular trapeze artist in a leopard-print costume swings overhead while a blond kid in a yellow suit goes tumbling through the air, hat flying, as a massive woman in blue topples a clown and sends tiny circus animals scattering across the sawdust ring — all while a dapper fellow in a pinstripe suit watches with a knowing smile. Klaus Nordling's lively linework gives the whole scene a wonderful kinetic energy that perfectly captures the slapstick spirit of Quality Comics' big-top world.