Rocket Raccoon #5

Rocket Raccoon #5 brings a genuinely charming cover from Skottie Young, who pencils and inks the scene of a tiny, lovably scrappy Rocket clutching an oversized smiley-face-adorned blaster while perched atop a figure in the foreground — all under the enormous, glowing-eyed gaze of Groot, whose bark-textured face fills nearly the entire left side of the image. A small pink heart floats in a speech bubble nearby, capturing the warmth at the core of this unlikely friendship. With writer-artist Skottie Young, inker Jake Parker, and colorist Jean-François Beaulieu telling the story of "Storytailer," this 2015 issue balances humor and heart in a way that makes it easy to see why this run resonated with readers.