One Panel #635-637: Splash Trio Competition

Wrapping up the list of comics out in May of '42 by running a little competition of splash panels/pages between Earths 2, X and S. The results:

From The Marksman: "Captain Krass's Double" by Ed Cronin, Alex Koda and Irving Tirman, Smash Comics #34 (July 1942)

Quality wins the day with its beautifully designed 2/3rds of a page. Polish hero the Marksman is putting arrows to the Nazis from a castle turret, backlit by a full moon on stone ramparts made of the hero's name. It's bold and crisp, and the only problem, that no one remembers this particular character, isn't really one.

From Star-Spangled Kid: "The Education of East-Side Egbert" by Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman, Star-Spangled Comics #10 (July 1942)

DC's entry is a close second by being so bizarre. A giant Stripesy with a dunce cap, sitting in the middle of a class room, while the Kid fights crooks. Bonus points for putting the narration on the black board and the creative team on a slate. What's it doing way up there though?

From Bulletman: "Mr. Murder Comes Back" by the Binder Studio, Master Comics #27 (June 1942)

Though lurid, Fawcett's entry comes in last for a variety of reasons. It's cluttered by a big block of text that drops down into an unshapely second panel. Those houses in the back are really dinky. And Bulletman looks like he's swinging from his feet. A full moon and a bat doesn't always cut it.