Fantastic Four #9

Few superhero comics have ever had the nerve to headline their own team's eviction — but that's exactly the bold premise splashed across this December 1962 issue, with the cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers showing all four members — Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Thing, and the Human Torch — hauling their belongings out of their building as a sign announces "Fantastic Four Evicted From Building! 5 Tower Floors For Rent!" Looming over the scene with a scheming smirk is the Sub-Mariner, whose thought balloon hints he's got sinister plans for the newly destitute heroes, while a bystander's quip — "Heroes one minute — bums the next!" — captures the wonderfully grounded, self-aware humor Stan Lee brought to Marvel's early years. It's a cover that dares to make Earth's mightiest team look genuinely down on their luck, and that irresistible hook makes this one hard to put back on the shelf.