Tom Strong #9

Paul Chadwick's cover for this September 2000 America's Best Comics issue plunges Tom Strong — red-shirted and straining against a tangle of writhing vines — into what appears to be a jungle temple crawling with ancient carvings, a dangling bat, and colorful butterflies. Looming above him is a massive, otherworldly artifact blazing with strange lights and mechanical eyes, set against walls dense with Mesoamerican-style stonework. With Alan Moore writing and the Sprouse/Gordon art team inside, "Terror Temple of Tayasal!" promises the kind of pulpy, globe-spanning adventure that makes Tom Strong such a pleasure to follow.