Man-Thing #11

What a way to go out — the cover of this "tear-stained last issue" wears its finale status with gleeful self-awareness, complete with editor Danny Fingeroth's own exasperated caption boxes throwing up his hands at the sheer madness inside. Bob Wiacek's cover art presents Man-Thing's massive, muck-encrusted form dominating the foreground while a caped Doctor Strange and a swirl of floating figures hover dramatically above, all framed by bursts of yellow flame and mystic energy. Chris Claremont and artist Val Mayerik bring their run on this wonderfully strange corner of the Marvel Universe to a close with issue #11, July 1981 — and if the cover's cheerful chaos is any indication, "Hell's Gate!" sends things off in genuinely unforgettable style.