Moonshadow #4

Epic Comics' enchanting series — billed right on the cover as "a fairy tale for grown-ups" — continues with this September 1985 installment, "The Hoofs of Wrath," from writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Jon J. Muth. The cover, painted by Muth, frames two dreamlike images: above, a glowing, fiery horizon dissolving into warm amber clouds, and below, a goggled figure soaring through misty skies strapped to a handmade hang-glider contraption with a small rocket mounted on its frame. It's the kind of image that captures Moonshadow's blend of wonder and strangeness perfectly — adventure rendered in brushstrokes that feel closer to watercolor illustration than superhero comics.