The Goon #39

Few comics have the nerve to mock the very gimmicks they're deploying, and this 2012 Dark Horse issue leans into that self-aware absurdity with gleeful confidence. Eric Powell's cover presents the Goon decked out in an over-the-top neon superhero costume — complete with glowing circuitry and a purple cape — while his smaller, equally ridiculous-looking companion looks back in obvious dismay, their speech bubbles lampooning the industry's costume-change-as-marketing trick. Rounding out the bottom corner are three color-coded Goon variants — Red, Blue, and Yellow — and the whole package is dressed up as a breathless "Collector's Edition" #1, making it a genuinely funny piece of comics satire that Powell pulls off with obvious craft and affection for the medium.