Dreadstar #16

Subtitled "The Test," this December 1984 installment of Jim Starlin and Sam de la Rosa's Dreadstar series from Epic/Marvel throws its cast into a furious melee right on the cover — a large, spiked-armor villain in purple dominates the center, manhandling a blue-and-star-emblazoned figure while a red-armored warrior, smaller armored opponents, and a glowing white-suited figure diving in from above round out the chaotic scrum. The cover's energy is raw and kinetic, the kind of brawl that makes you genuinely curious what ordeal these characters are being put through. At $1.50, this mid-run chapter of Starlin's space-opera epic shows the creative team firing on all cylinders.