Superman: The Man of Steel #107

The cover of this December 2000 issue says it all: Superman, cape billowing and a mechanical foe locked in his grip, peers out through a swirling dimensional portal while a horde of grotesque, alien creatures closes in from all sides — billed right there as "The Phantom Zone Menace!" Doug Mahnke and Tom Nguyen's cover work is genuinely striking, filling every corner with writhing, monstrous forms that make the Phantom Zone feel like a place no hero should have to venture. Mark Schultz's "In the Zone" promises exactly the kind of high-stakes, otherworldly encounter that makes Superman comics so compelling.