Great Covers: WOW COMICS #10

Here’s a really lovely and iconic pin-up cover of WOW COMICS featuring artist Marc Swayze’s rendition of Mary Marvel, who had only taken over the cover position the previous issue. Rather that emphasizing action or danger or drama, Swayze here gives us a beauty shot of the new character, one that he had a hand in designing. Mary comes across maybe a hair more mature on this cover piece than she appeared in the stories at this time, where she was clearly just a young girl. Either way, it’s an attention-getting and attractive image. Down the left side of the piece we see vignettes of the WOW COMICS also-rans, characters who would stick around in its pages for almost the entirety of its run but who weren’t popular enough to warrant (or keep) the lead cover position. They included Mister Scarlet, a sort of a red Batman figure whos biggest claim to fame may be that the proposed Republic serial that was to feature him was instead retooled to star Timelys Captain America; Commando Yank, a sort of quasi-bargain basement Captain America himself; and the Phantom Eagle, a young aviator hero.