The Brave and the Bold #39

From DC's The Brave and the Bold comes this January 1961 issue featuring Task Force X — the Suicide Squad — in what the cover boldly promises is their "most astonishing mission." Ross Andru and Mike Esposito's cover art says it all: a massive, tooth-filled dinosaur jaw dominates the scene as two desperate squad members cling to a makeshift raft in churning water, one crying out "Rick! Paddle! Paddle! We're being dragged back!" Behind them, a tropical jungle sets the stage for the story within — "Prisoners of the Dinosaur Zoo!" It's vintage DC adventure at its most imaginatively over-the-top, the kind of breathless, anything-can-happen storytelling that made early 1960s comics genuinely irresistible.