Guy Gardner: Warrior #27

This January 1995 issue kicks off the three-part "Capital Punishment" arc, and the cover by Mitch Byrd and Dan Davis makes an immediate impression: a massive, roaring green-skinned brute called Sledge bursts through a wall, his enormous fists shattering everything around him, while Guy Gardner and an armored figure clash in the foreground. The sheer scale of Sledge looming over the two fighters sells the threat perfectly — this is not an opponent anyone walks away from easily. Writer Beau Smith and artist Mitch Byrd were clearly setting the stage for something big with Act 1 of this story.