Star Wars #46

Marvel's Star Wars #46 (1981) delivers one of the more arresting covers of the series — a massive, snarling crimson creature looms over the star-filled void, physically dwarfing both an Imperial Star Destroyer and what appears to be the Millennium Falcon as they flee beneath its clawed hands. The cover copy warns that Empire and Rebel forces alike are "helpless prey of the Dreadnaught Devourer," promising a threat that transcends the usual factions, while C-3PO and R2-D2 keep watch from their small inset corner. Cover pencils by Ed Hannigan and inks by Tom Palmer give the beast a genuinely menacing presence, and with interior art by Carmine Infantino, this issue — titled "The Dreams of Cody Sunn-Childe!" — is a fine example of Marvel pushing the Star Wars universe into stranger, wilder territory.