The Flash #263

The cover of this July 1978 DC issue sets up a genuinely intriguing dilemma: a gold-costumed, blonde woman clutches a stolen jewelry box and pleads with the Flash to help her escape, warning that the Ringmaster will have her jailed — while a blindfolded figure in blue writhes in chains behind her. The Scarlet Speedster himself lunges into the scene at full tilt, and the cover's bold question — "Why would the Scarlet Speedster help his deadliest criminal foe?" — gives the whole thing a wonderfully pulpy edge. Cover art by Joe Staton and Frank Giacoia delivers sharp, kinetic energy, and with Cary Bates writing the interior alongside artist Irv Novick, The Flash #263 looks like a fine example of late-Bronze-Age DC at its most entertaining.