The Amazing Spider-Man #504

The cover of Amazing Spider-Man #504 sets an unsettling, otherworldly tone as Spider-Man floats suspended above a darkened cityscape, bathed in sickly yellow-green light while a swirling mass of shadowy black fragments surrounds him. Looming above him is a massive, skull-like demonic visage with curved horns, its hollow grin casting a threatening presence over the scene — a vivid promise of the supernatural confrontation awaiting in part 2 of "Chasing a Dark Shadow." With pencils and inks by John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna, and a script from the team of J. Michael Straczynski and Fiona Avery, this 2004 Marvel chapter looks like a genuinely compelling blend of superhero action and eerie mysticism.