The Flash #159

The cover of The Flash #159 says it all — the scarlet uniform hangs abandoned on a tree like a resignation letter made flesh, while a dejected blond man in street clothes trudges away carrying a briefcase past a "You Are Now Leaving Central City" sign. A dramatic note pinned to the costume, signed "The Ex-Flash," declares "I Quit! Good-bye and Good Riddance!" — and the bold cover copy insists this really happened. Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella deliver a genuinely striking visual puzzle that makes it hard not to flip straight to Gardner Fox's story, "The Flash's Final Fling!" This March 1966 DC issue is a fine example of Silver Age cover design at its most attention-grabbing — equal parts soap opera and superhero spectacle.