Superman: The Man of Steel #81

This July 1998 issue of Superman: The Man of Steel features a cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke that pays loving homage to the Golden Age — the cover artist even signs it "after Shuster" — with Superman racing ahead of a speeding streamlined locomotive through a sun-baked desert landscape while cradling a wide-eyed young girl with blonde pigtails safely in his arms. It's a warm, kinetic image that captures everything reassuring about the Man of Steel: impossible speed, effortless strength, and an unwavering commitment to protecting the vulnerable. Louise Simonson and Bogdanove's long creative partnership on this title made it one of DC's most heartfelt Superman books, and this cover reminds you exactly why.