Ghost Rider #4

The skull-headed, flame-crowned Ghost Rider tears through a demolition derby on his roaring motorcycle, debris and smashed cars scattering beneath his wheels while an enormous gun barrel looms threateningly from the right — all rendered in Gil Kane's bold pencils, finished by Frank Giacoia and Mike Esposito. The cover tagline "Death Stalks the Demolition Derby" and the taunting word balloons perfectly capture the danger-charged energy of this 1974 Marvel gem. At just 20 cents, issue #4 delivers the kind of visceral, anything-can-happen cover drama that made Ghost Rider such a compelling addition to Marvel's early-'70s lineup.