Tom Strong #15

A fiery threat races toward the lava in this volcanic cover scene for "Ring of Fire!" — a flaming, yellow-suited figure known as the Salamander charges forward while Tom Strong's allies scramble to intercept him, including a woman being dragged along, a determined young woman in purple, a rifle-wielding hero diving from above, and a gorilla companion snarling at the right. The cover's urgent speech bubble — "Stop him! If the Salamander reaches the lava, he'll become invincible!" — sets the stakes perfectly, with Chris Sprouse's pencils and Al Gordon's inks delivering a wonderfully kinetic, Kirby-influenced composition. Alan Moore's acclaimed WildStorm series was firing on all cylinders in 2002, and this issue looks like a prime example of why Tom Strong earned its "America's Best Comics Magazine" banner.