The Punisher: War Zone #27

The Punisher finds himself in a brutal, desperate struggle on Rafael Kayanan's cover for this May 1994 issue — Frank Castle, skull emblem prominent on his chest, strains under the grip of a scarlet-headed, knife-wielding opponent who looms over him amid a burst of jagged crimson shards. It's a raw, kinetic image that captures the gritty intensity War Zone delivered month after month. With Chuck Dixon scripting and John Buscema on interior art, "Boss Sugar" promises the kind of hard-edged crime storytelling that made this series a standout in Marvel's early-nineties lineup.