Impulse #64

This September 2000 issue of Impulse leans fully into its "Mercury Falling Part 3" video-game premise, and the cover by Ethan Van Sciver (inked by Wayne Faucher) runs with it brilliantly — Impulse tumbles upside-down through what looks like a chaotic virtual battlefield, caught between the snapping jaws of a massive blue creature on one side and its clawed hand on the other, while a small green-and-yellow companion floats nearby and armed enemies open fire in the electric, score-counter-dotted background. The whole thing is styled as a mock advertisement for the "Impulse 64 Game System," making the cover itself part of the joke in a wonderfully self-aware way. With Todd DeZago writing and Eric Battle on interior art, this run had a real knack for blending high-energy superhero action with sharp, playful humor.