Marvel Tales #144

This 1982 reprint brings together Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for "The Return of the Vulture," and the cover — penciled and inked by Ditko himself — delivers an immediate jolt of midair tension. Spider-Man and the green-winged Vulture clash high above the city skyline, with Spidey's thought bubble revealing a worried mind beneath that confident mask: he senses his foe has a foolproof plan, but can't quite figure out what it is. It's a wonderfully compact snapshot of the Marvel Age at its most kinetic — two rivals locked in a battle of brains and brawn, framed with all of Ditko's sharp, dynamic energy.