Guardians of the Galaxy #49

The 31st century's premier team faces something truly enormous in this June 1994 issue, as five Guardians — a hulking brawler, a dark-suited figure bearing a star emblem, a feline-featured warrior, a blue-winged alien, and a flame-haired woman in green — stand defiantly against the colossal, luminescent form of a Celestial looming behind them. That subtitle, "The Season of the Celestial," sets the stakes perfectly: when gods-among-gods show up, even the galaxy's mightiest protectors look small by comparison. Kevin West and Steve Montano's cover composition makes great use of that scale contrast, pulling you right into the tension before you've even cracked the spine.