The Flash #272

A clown-like villain operating a pipe organ-mounted contraption boasts that his sonic vibes have frozen the Fastest Man Alive in his tracks — and the cover by José Luis García-López captures the grim stakes perfectly, with the Flash immobilized while bystanders are hurled through the air around him. That speech bubble — "Those men will die!" — sets up a deliciously tense situation for Cary Bates's story, "The Girl with the Master Mind..." This April 1979 issue is a fine example of DC putting real dramatic weight behind its superhero covers, making it hard not to flip straight to page one.