The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #4

This 1984 annual puts Aunt May at the heart of the drama, with the cover's split design telling a compelling before-and-after story: on the left, a younger May recoils in fear beside a gun-wielding criminal in a red suit, while on the right, a present-day May clings to Spider-Man — clad in his striking black costume — as he swings her to safety amid a volley of spears or poles. The cover text makes the stakes bracingly clear: the man May loved before Ben Parker has returned, and his intentions are anything but romantic. Cover pencils by Al Milgrom and inks by Joe Rubinstein give the whole thing a sharp, dynamic energy that makes "Memory Lane!" feel like one of the more personal Spider-Man stories of the era.