Tomahawk #20

The cover of this November–December 1953 DC issue, rendered by Nick Cardy, drops you right into the heat of frontier combat: Tomahawk, in his signature buckskin and coonskin cap, grabs at a wide-eyed correspondent who's scribbling notes on a sketchpad while arrows and musket fire streak past them overhead. The featured story, "Pioneer War Correspondent," is telegraphed perfectly by that exchange — "Get down, you fool! You're causing me more trouble than the enemy!" met with an excited "What a story!" — capturing the tension between survival and the pursuit of a scoop. It's a wonderfully specific premise that makes this issue of America's favorite frontier hero stand out even among the brand-new adventures DC was delivering that year.