Adventures of Superman #438

Few images in 1988 Superman comics hit quite like this one — Jerry Ordway's cover is a jarring, full-bleed close-up of the Man of Steel's face contorted in visible agony, head thrown back, teeth clenched, as radiating lines suggest some overwhelming force tearing at his mind or body. It's a visceral, almost uncomfortable portrait of a Superman pushed to his absolute limits, and paired with the story title "...The Amazing Brainiac," it promises a serious threat from one of the Man of Steel's most formidable adversaries. The Byrne, Ordway, and Beatty creative team was at the height of its post-Crisis Superman run in 1988, and this issue looks like a striking showcase of that collaboration.