The Amazing Spider-Man #8

The cover of this August 1999 issue pulls no punches: Spider-Man's suit is shredded and dissolving, his figure dramatically backlit as a cascade of dark tendrils tears him apart — while a haunting montage of ghostly blue faces looks on from the right, their expressions caught somewhere between shock and dread. John Romita Jr.'s cover art sells the tension masterfully, and the bold tagline — "You Won't Believe WHO KILLS Spider-Man This Issue!" — makes it nearly impossible to set this one back on the shelf. Written by Howard Mackie with interior art from John Byrne and Scott Hanna, "The Man Behind the Curtain!" promises the kind of web-slinging drama that made 1999 a genuinely compelling era for the relaunched title.