Man-Thing #9

Few Marvel covers from 1981 balance the monstrous and the tender quite like this one — the shambling, muck-encrusted Man-Thing stands in the middle of a murky swamp cradling a tiny infant in his massive clawed hands, his glowing red eyes somehow suggesting more protector than predator. Behind him, a figure with a dog pushes through the waterlogged trees, while the cover's bold tagline — "Save the life of my child!" — sets up a surprisingly emotional premise for a creature who feels no fear of his own. With Bob Wiacek's cover art bringing striking detail to both the swamp's eerie atmosphere and Man-Thing's mossy bulk, this is the kind of issue that reminds you Marvel's horror corner had real heart beneath the slime.