probably PL 17
Do you buy into the notion that the cover may not be by Baker after all?
no
I guess that if even Vadeboncoeur thinks it is, it probably is. (A lot of other Baker GGA covers I like better, though. )
I never seen good reason to question Baker being the artist. Who are they suggesting as an alternate?
Taking a quick scan through the other covers, I don't think that there's the high level of artistic consistency that you would later see in Baker's St. John work. That may be partly due to his maturing as an artist and partly due to working as part of the Iger shop assembly line where other hands might have touched part of the drawing.
It's not my favorite Baker cover but I certainly understand why it's tops for so many.
It's a vexed question isn't it? Even much of the St John work shows the influence of lesser hands. The later covers would seem to be pure Baker, many but not all of the stories. A lot of his work for Fiction House seems unadulterated.
This really is a fleeting recollection, so please don't hold me to it, but I believe the argument suggested that the PL #17 cover might have been the product of a jam session by Baker and Kamen. Cant recall why though!
But I do think a lot of what is currently ascribed to Baker isn't entirely by his hand.