The Flash #253

This September 1977 issue puts the Scarlet Speedster in a genuinely dire situation, as the cover — penciled by Rich Buckler and inked by Jack Abel — shows a towering green-suited villain called the Molder looming triumphantly over a Flash who appears to be literally melting, his red costume dissolving into a puddle of goo while bystanders look on in horror. The Molder's boastful speech bubble — threatening to scrape the Flash up with a putty knife — makes the stakes bracingly clear even before you crack the spine. With interior work from writer Cary Bates and artist Irv Novick, "Don't Mess with the Molder!" looks like a wonderfully offbeat challenge for DC's fastest man alive.