L. B. Cole drew, by his estimation, nearly 1,500 covers in his career. He was a decent artist on these inside continuity pages, but it’s for his covers he’s famous. His ability to make eye-catching poster-like covers sold an awful lot of otherwise mediocre comic books. Except for his loving renditions of sexy Toni, I don’t think there’s much else about this artwork that would send anyone’s pulse racing. But then, maybe that was enough for those readers in 1949 looking for a little something extra for their dime.
And as for the cover, despite, or maybe because of, the silliness of fashion model Toni in high heels fighting a shark, I think it is one of the great covers of the Golden Age.
