Here is the latest in our year-long look at one cool comic (whether it be a self-contained work, an ongoing comic or a run on a long-running title that featured multiple creative teams on it over the years) a day (in no particular order whatsoever)! Here's the archive of the moments posted so far!

Today we take a look at the legendary first appearance of the Cosmic Cube in Tales of Suspense #79-81, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee!!

Enjoy!

Our tremendous tale begins in Tales of Suspense #79, as we see the creation of the Cosmic Cube (the Red Skull is "working with" AIM, but he is preparing even then to betray them)...



That betrayal takes place at the beginning of #80, and it leads to a great action sequence of Captain America springing into battle, countered with the Red Skull being particularly horrific (to a character who was established last issue as one of his closest allies)...







Once on the island, Cap fights the Skull, but while the Skull is outclassed, fighting-wise, he has an edge - he doesn't mind playing dirty!!





Things are looking bad for Cap in #81, as he tries to take the Skull out before he's too used to the power...



Lee and Kirby are crackling here, aren't they? It's a really interesting premise for a story, which is why the Cosmic Cube has been used a lot ever since - it is a great plot device!

In any event, in the story, it looks like this is the end for Captain America until he tries one last gambit...



To see how Cap's plan worked out, pick up Essential Captain America Vol. 1, which has this story plus FORTY OTHER Captain America stories (from Tales of Suspense, so they're not particularly long)!!!