The Defenders #124

This October 1983 issue of Marvel's long-running non-team series sets an ominous tone with a cover — penciled by Sandy Plunkett and inked by Alan Weiss — that assembles a striking lineup against a backdrop of dramatic light-streaked terrain: a winged figure soaring with fists clenched, a blonde warrior woman gripping a sword, the crouching blue-furred Beast, and a snarling bat-winged demon in purple armor, with scattered skulls hinting at danger underfoot. The title "Darkness on the Edge of Time!" promises exactly the kind of cosmic, otherworldly tension the Defenders do best. With J. M. DeMatteis writing and Don Perlin on interior art, this is a fine example of the series firing on all cylinders in the early '80s.