The Flash #248

The cover of this April 1977 DC issue sets up a wonderfully strange premise: a young artist sits at his easel, canvas labeled "My Master Villain," while his green-and-gold creation has literally stepped off the drawing board to unleash crackling energy blasts against the Scarlet Speedster himself. The cover caption — "My Master Villain came to life — and he's gonna destroy the Flash!" — sells the high-concept hook perfectly, and Rich Buckler's pencils with Frank Springer's inks give the scene a kinetic, street-level charge as bystanders scramble in the Central City background. With Cary Bates scripting and Irv Novick on interior art, "Challenge of the Cardboard Criminal!" promises exactly the kind of imaginative, fast-paced adventure that made The Flash a consistent treat in the Bronze Age.