Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #12

Issue #12 of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane captures the series' signature teen-drama warmth with a cover by Takeshi Miyazawa and Norman Lee showing Mary Jane — red hair, patterned top, looking a little uneasy — standing against a weathered wall beside a casually dressed brown-haired young man, her handbag resting at her feet between them. The gap between the two figures and MJ's uncertain expression say more than words could about the awkward emotional territory hinted at by the story title, "The Flirting Thing." With Sean McKeever's writing and Miyazawa's manga-influenced linework inside, this 2007 Marvel gem continues to make high school feel like the most complicated adventure of all.