Violent cover featuring Harley Quinn and Selina Kyle

Copies ordered by retailers: 28,663

Controversial issue: interactions between Terra and Deathstroke, first established in this issue indicate a sexual relationship despite him being the sixteen-year-old girl's senior by decades

This relationship was revisited in the 2016 Deathstroke series with fewer subtleties and addressed when Slade apologizes to Terra aka Tara (tap cover and swipe to view)

1st full cover appearance of Deathstroke, seen in shadows on cover of New Teen Titans #2

1st cameo appearance of Adeline Wilson, in a photo

Controversial issue: criticized for the highly sexualized portrayal of Princess Matoaka, the true name of the indigenous girl nicknamed, Pocahontas whose real life story would be characterized today as tragic, marred by underage exploitation, abuse and trafficking

Writer, Jason Aaron made to the following statement to Bleeding Cool:

"I made the ill-considered decision to give a character the name of Matoaka, a name most closely associated with the real-life Native American figure, Pocahontas. This new character is a supernatural, thousand-year-old princess of a cursed island within a world of pastiche and dark fantasy and was never intended to be based on anyone from history. I should have better understood the name's true meaning and resonance and recognized it wasn't appropriate to use it. I understand the outrage expressed by those who hold the true Matoaka's legacy dear, and for all of this and the distress it's caused, I apologize. As part of that apology, I've already taken what I was paid for the issue and donated it to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center. The character's name and appearance will be adjusted for the rest of this mini-series and in all digital and collected editions."

116-page, black and white hardcover graphic novel measuring 10 in. x 13 in.

Originally written with Batman as the the title character who hunts down Islamic terrorists but re-concepted to a vigilante named the Fixer

Controversial upon release in its critical reviews from journalists and industry peers who condemned the story for being absurd, offensive and Islamophobic

Original retail price: $29.99

1st appearance of Henrietta Hunter, a pop star who obtains powers after returning from the dead

Controversial issue: initially the five-part story arc was titled Di Another Day and featured Princess Diana as a mutant who returned from the dead after the August 1997 car accident that took her life. The creators were forced to alter the story and art after the book's solicitations resulted in criticism from British media, the Royal Family and even Elton John

(Tap cover and swipe to view original cover art for this issue)

Controversial issue that caught the attention of Canadian psychologist and author, Dr. Jordan Peterson after fans pointed out similarities between the depiction of Nazi super-villain Red Skull to topics frequently explored by Peterson

In the comic, an image shows the Red Skull's lecture topics include: Chaos and Order, The Feminist Trap and Ten Rules For Life, a title similar to Peterson's book 12 Rules For Life

Peterson commented on Twitter: Do I really live in a universe where Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a Captain America comic featuring a parody of my ideas as part of the philosophy of the arch villain Red Skull?

Print run: 500 copies, obtained via mail order

36-page black and white pictorial tribute to Heidi Saha, a 14-year-old girl who competed in costume contests as Vampirella and other characters at fan conventions in the early 1970s

Controversial publication by Vampirella creator Forest Ackerman due to Saha's age and rumors that she appeared nude in pictures published in this magazine which is untrue

Ackerman's descriptions of Heidi are criticized as inappropriate including the following, 'At the present time she neatly distributes 35" 24" 36" into a 5'7" frame weighing 120 lbs. and topped by a heavenly cascade of honey-blonde hair'

Heidi's father, Art Saha is credited for coining the term Trekkie to describe fans of Star Trek

Topical reference involving the Punisher’s emblem being used by the police and the character's in-story response to the controversy

Series about a rift torn open between the Mexico and U.S. border allowing the creatures from Mexican folklore into the world

Series canceled after writer was accused of sexual misconduct

One-Shot by Spire Christian Comics

1st appearance of Egg Fu, a character based on racist stereotypes

1st appearance of Dagger Type, a man impersonating Batgirl

Controversial issue: criticized for being insulting and portraying transexual or transgender individuals as insane

While performing, Dagger Type removes the Batgirl mask causing the stunned audience to refer to the character as "him" and "he" prompting Dagger Type to fire upon the crowd

Controversial cover art by J. Scott Campbell featuring Mary Jane Watson

In 2020/2021, an artist caught the attention of J. Scott Campbell after posting to Tumblr a "fixed" rendition of this cover with a less provocative Mary Jane

Campbell responded to the criticism with his own revised sketch that pointed out the weaknesses in the Tumblr artist's technique

While strongly supported by his fanbase, there was a fair amount of backlash on social media against Campbell's professional assessment of the amateur artist

Campbell's revised sketch was listed to eBay and sold for $14,700

100% of the proceeds were donated to Fresh Artists, a charity that nurtures artistic talent in kids

Controversial issue: hoodlums use anti-Semitic insults while beating up a man

Controversial issue: received media attention due to a window pane of a shop stenciled with the word 'jewery' instead of jewelry and a Star of David, a Jewish religious symbol

Marvel is offering comic shops replacement of the issue because of the error

Bennett is being accusations of anti-Semitism and issued an apology stating that it was an unintentional error

Variant cover art by David Finch featuring the retired Mississippi state flag

In 2020, Mississippi Legislature voted in favor (91 yes/23 no votes) to replace the flag which has displayed the Confederate battle flag since 1894

2007 Ethan Van Sciver convention sketchbook limited to 1,000 copies

Controversial cover: parody of Mein Kampf, the autobiographical manifesto written by Hitler

Detractors of Van Sciver cite this cover as an example of the artist's political and social beliefs

As reported by Bleeding Cool, Van Sciver wrote about the accusations: the cover was SINESTRO, who we'd redesigned that year to resemble Hitler, and with the fact that most people knew I leaned right, this was a JOKE

Homophobic slurs printed on protest signs

Variant cover art by Jason Moore

Image censored due to extreme gore and sexual violence

Controversial issue: Starfox is on trial for sexual assault after he is accused of using his powers to seduce a married woman

Controversial issue: Gabriel and Sarah Stacy are the result of an affair between Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy, later retconned, removed, from continuity in The Amazing Spider-Man #73 (2021)

Prototype of Wolverine

Published 1.5 years prior to Wolverine's first appearance, a comic fan submitted an original character concept. The character was named The Wolverine with regenerative abilities, a metal exoskeleton and was the product of experimentation

The fan was not credited or compensated and there is some question as to whether the Wolverine that we know was inspired by the fan concept character

Variant cover art by Ethan Van Sciver, limited to 1,000 copies

Controversial cover depicting Kurt Cobain, the frontman for Nirvana who died in 1994 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound

1st and only appearance of Skip Westcott, a teenage neighbor who inappropriately touched Peter Parker when he was a young boy

16-page giveaway co-published by Marvel Comics and the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse

Reprinted many times until the year 2000 - original has the word FREE printed on the cover and no sponsor logo in the upper-right corner

It was never confirmed or denied that this origin story is actually a part of Spider-Man's canon (official history)

Moderately explicit art where Madame Xanadu appears naked while engaged in relations with The Spectre in his ethereal form

Controversial issue in which Dave Sim alienates readers by suggesting a philosophy that men are at risk of an unhappy life if he commits to long-term cohabitation with a woman

Issue resulted in a significant drop in monthly sales

Cover art by Barry Windsor-Smith featuring Magik

Specialty border printed on select covers published in November 1986 celebrating Marvel's 25th Anniversary or more precisely, the 25th year since Fantastic Four #1 was published in November 1961

Kitty Pryde, speaking at a memorial service uses multiple offensive words related to ethnicity and sexual orientation

Published without approval from the Comics Code Authority due to a sub-plot about drug use

The depiction of drugs in a negative light was well-received by readers which led to the Comics Code Authority easing-up on creative restrictions

Variant cover art by Artgerm

According to Artgerm, debate arose as to the strong sexual imagery in the way Supergirl's fingers were positioned close to her skirt and the symbolism represented by her cat

Recalled issue due to a tentacle resembling male genitalia

The interior panel of concern depicts Abigail Arcane in the foreground screaming in terror and Anton Arcane in the background, mostly in shadows, with red blazing eyes - the first printing depicts a tentacle between the two characters

Said to be scarce but there are copies available on mycomicshop.com for under $3.00, nothing on-sale or sold on eBay

Controversial issue: Hank Pym AKA Yellowjacket, is suspended from the Avengers after physically assaulting his wife Janet AKA Wasp

Signs of a character shift begin in Avengers #212 where Hank destroys one of Janet's costumes

Controversial issue: in an effort to make a point about the offensiveness of the word 'mutie,' Kitty Pryde uses an extremely offensive racial slur (uncensored)

Origin of Doctor Doom - his educational years, facial disfigurement and procurement of the Doctor Doom armor

Controversial issue where Johnny Storm confronts an individual who is defacing racial equality posters with racist propaganda

Multiple, uncensored panels clearly display an extremely offensive racist word and phrase

Variant cover art by Rafael Grampa

Cover art used on social media to promote the release of the comic has been criticized for supporting pro-democracy riots in Hong Kong

In accordance with the writer Mark Gruenwald's wishes, his cremated ashes were mixed with the ink in the first printing edition of this trade paperback

Recalled due to a depiction of a naked Peter Parker's 'web-shooter'

Alternate reality story where Peter Parker is an older, retired man

Controversial cover that depicts Robin's hanging

Story titled 'How Many Ways Can Robin Die?'

Young Avengers Hulkling and Wiccan first kiss

The cause of controversy in September 2019 after the mayor of Rio de Janeiro called for all copies of the TPB to be collected and destroyed

Adult-oriented material, banned in Canada

Published cover art (left) replaced the original cover (right) which was censored by DC without the creator's knowledge

Final issue of Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu

Mature content: Colleen Wing's breasts are fully exposed as her and Misty Knight are forced into becoming heroin addicts

Marriage of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle

Selina called-off the wedding which was revealed to readers by The New York Times prior to the issue coming out causing significant backlash against DC and the newspaper

Controversial issue due to drug use

Following a drug lab explosion, Captain America inhales the fumes of a drug called "Ice" which has a pronounced effect due to the Super Soldier Serum in his blood

Controversial issue that published tweets from a reader who was criticizing the title, which is unlawful for a publisher to do according to Twitter’s Privacy Policy

'Cease and DCist' edition, limited to 500 copies

Created in response to DC sending a Cease and Desist letter to Devil's Due for portraying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as Wonder Woman in a previous issue

Variant cover art by Josh Hixson raffled at HeroesCon 2016

Limited to 50 copies

Back cover reads "F*ck HB2" a statement from the creator against the North Carolina law that prohibits transgender individuals from using restrooms inconsistent from their gender at birth

In 2000, the Charles Atlas corporation filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against DC Comics for the portrayal of Flex Mentallo being a parody of the real-life Italian bodybuilder

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed but series was out-of-print for over a decade and commanded a considerable amount on the secondary market

Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery has since been published in a hardcover deluxe edition collection and a trade paperback

Variant cover art by Carla Cohen, limited to 250 copies

DC sent a cease and desist to Devil's Due for further printings and also to retailers who were selling the cover

Premiere series in the DC Black Label launch which gives established creators creative freedom to explore characters and stories outside of continuity

Controversial issue: Bruce Wayne's genitalia

Classic story titled 'Judgement Day' that reveals the protagonist to be an African-American man which, at the time, was a risky move issued by the creators to insert the character into a position of power