Strange Tales #7

Kevin Nowlan's cover for this 1987 Marvel anthology says it all: a massive, grinning Nightmare looms over the chaos as Doctor Strange conjures mystic energy, Dagger is caught in the villain's enormous clutches, and Cloak hovers above — while additional figures crowd the foreground in a scene of urgent, swirling danger. The cover banner makes the stakes explicit, promising that Doc, Cloak, and Dagger join forces with the New Defenders to battle Nightmare himself. With Peter B. Gillis writing and Terry Shoemaker on interior art, "Doorway to Nightmare!" looks like a genuinely gripping clash between Marvel's mystical heroes and one of the most unsettling corners of the Marvel universe.