The Amazing Spider-Man #2

The relaunched Amazing Spider-Man hits its second issue with a cover by John Byrne that radiates genuine menace — a blazing, skeletal figure known as Shadrac looms at the center of an inferno while Spider-Man, seen from behind, squares up to face him, and a frightened Peter Parker recoils at the edge of the flames. The cover's cheeky banner ("This is Peter Parker") and taunting tagline — "Who is being scorched by Shadrac?!" — give the whole thing a wonderfully pulpy energy that feels right at home in 1999 Marvel. With Howard Mackie writing and Byrne on both pencils and inks, this creative team clearly had no interest in easing into the series gently.