Captain Marvel #43

Among the cosmic corners of Marvel's 1976 lineup, Captain Marvel #43 delivers a striking cover from penciler Al Milgrom and inker Bernie Wrightson — showing Mar-Vell locked in a desperate grapple with a green-skinned, purple-caped villain identified on the cover as the Destroyer, who snarls that the hero has "destroyed my only reason for living." The caption box captures Mar-Vell's own grim admission that even he may not be able to stop his returning foe, lending the whole scene a real sense of cosmic dread against a deep-space backdrop of swirling debris and colorful planetary bodies. If you love high-stakes superhero drama set against the stars, this one's a fine example of what made "the most cosmic superhero of all" such a compelling read.