Kiss: Psycho Circus #4

The four members of KISS loom large in the blood-red background — their iconic makeup and studded costumes unmistakable — while at the center of the cover, a terrified figure bursts through what looks like a shattering frame of broken glass, mouth open in a scream and hands clutching their face. Michael Golden's cover work gives the whole image a striking horror-show energy that perfectly suits the "Smoke & Mirrors" story kicking off inside. Image Comics' KISS: Psycho Circus continues to be one of the more genuinely unsettling licensed comics of 1997, blending rock mythology with full-on supernatural dread.