The Amazing Spider-Man #501

Issue #501 marks a quietly personal turn for the Straczynski/Romita Jr. era, with a story title — "Saturday in the Park With May" — that promises something warmer and more street-level than your average web-slinging adventure. Tony Harris's cover captures that perfectly: Spider-Man clings to the hood of a New York City taxi cab, while an elderly woman (unmistakably Aunt May) grips the wheel inside with steely determination, flames reflected in the windshield above them. It's a wonderfully offbeat image that blends everyday New York grit with superhero absurdity, and it makes this 2004 issue a genuinely charming entry in the run.