Fantastic Four Annual #27

This oversized 64-page 1994 annual pits the Fantastic Four against "The Wheels of Bureaucracy" — and the cover by Mike Gustovich makes that premise gloriously literal, with the Human Torch, the Thing, and a blonde woman (likely Sue Storm) buried under cascading avalanches of paperwork while a suited bureaucrat sits impassively at his desk. Leaping above the chaos is the guest star announced right on the cover: Justice Peace, a Captain America-styled armored figure mid-action, lending the scene a wonderfully absurdist energy. Writer Mark Gruenwald's knack for mixing cosmic stakes with sharp satire is already telegraphed by the title "Mobius's Trip," promising a wild ride through red tape that's anything but routine.