10 Reasons We Still Love Marvel's Secret Wars 30 Years Later

8. Mike Zeck€™s Covers

Prior to Secret Wars, artist Mike Zeck had already established himself as a critical darling with his work on series such as Captain America and Master of Kung Fu. But his work on Secret Wars officially launched him into the stratosphere to the point where he emerged from the 1980s as one of the greatest comic book artists of his generation. Zeck€™s best artwork was saved for the front covers. Over the course of 12 issues, Zeck illustrated three covers in Secret Wars #1, #8 and #10 that are considered by many comic book fans as some of the greatest Marvel covers of all time. The image of Secret Wars #1, which shows all of the heroes running, swinging and flying into the foreground, has inspired countless homages including covers for Deadpool Kills Deadpool and Deathwatch.

Zeck€™s cover for Secret Wars #8, which shows Spider-Man in his black costume for the first time, is considered one of the most iconic Spidey images of all time. The cover to Secret Wars #10 €“ which shows a battered but defiant Doctor Doom €“ has also been referenced by other comic book series.

And that€™s not taking anything away from the other nine covers in the series, which may not be as memorable, but are a true marvel to look at.