U.S. Fighting Men #17

The cover of U.S. Fighting Men #17 sets a tense Cold War scene, with a red-starred enemy soldier leveling an automatic weapon at a stricken U.S. jet fighter that's careening across a concrete barrier, sparks flying as bullets tear into it — while American troops scramble along the wall above and return fire. Jack Abel's pencils and inks bring a gritty, kinetic energy to the whole composition, and the cover blurb promises that Major Ken Bullet stumbles from a mock battle straight into real danger with real bullets. Rounding out this 1964 package is a second feature teased as "Stand By For Crack-Up!" — plenty of action packed into twelve cents.