Venom: The Finale #1

Venom crouches in full predatory menace on this cover by Kyle Hotz, his massive symbiote frame lunging forward against a backdrop of fire and twisted, alien-looking flora — the tagline "On the Run from Everyone!" setting an appropriately urgent tone. It's a fittingly dramatic opening image for Venom: The Finale, a 1997 three-part series written by Larry Hama with interior art by Mark Pajarillo and Robert Jones. If you've been following Venom's turbulent corner of the Marvel Universe, this one looks like a satisfying, high-stakes payoff.