Alpha Flight #83

Talisman faces her most daunting challenge yet in Alpha Flight #83 (1990), as the cover — penciled and inked by Jim Sherman — puts her front and center, arms raised defiantly while the massive, grinning visage of Llan looms over her, dwarfing the young heroine in deeply unsettling fashion. The burst copy says it all: "Talisman Alone Against Llan!" and the image delivers on that promise, with Talisman straining against what appears to be a mystical barrier while a fiery, chaotic landscape swirls behind her. It's a striking composition that captures one hero's sheer determination against overwhelming supernatural odds.