Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #9

High above the city skyline, Spider-Man — clad in the red-and-gold Iron Spider armor — takes a direct hit while a purple-suited, green-skinned villain looms menacingly overhead, whip in hand and riding what appears to be a glider. Mike Wieringo's pencils (inked by Karl Kesel) capture the mid-air chaos with real energy, the explosion of impact and the swooping motion of both figures giving the cover a terrific sense of velocity. Peter David's "Jumping the Tracks, Part II" promises that this 2006 chapter of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man keeps the stakes — and the altitude — satisfyingly high.