Though this image may be subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:
It illustrates an educational article about the comic-book characters from whose series the cover illustration was taken.
The image is used as the sole means of visual identification of one of the two incarnations of the article topic (its "underground" 1980s incarnation; the other is a 2000s children's humor adventure). Comic books are a visual medium, and it is impossible to give a comprehensive understanding of a comic-book character without a visual example.
The image is from a cover drawn by one of the character's signature artists.
The use of the cover will not affect the value of the original work or limit the copyright holder's rights or ability to distribute the original. In particular, copies could not be used to make illegal copies of the comic book.
It is a low-resolution image.
The image is only a small portion of the commercial product.
It is not replaceable with an uncopyrighted or freely copyrighted image of comparable educational value.
No free use image available. As this is a fictional, copyrighted character and a copyrighted publication, a freely-licensed alternative could not reasonably be obtained.
This image is from a comic strip, webcomic or from the cover or interior of a comic book. The copyright for this image is most likely owned by either the publisher of the comic or the writer(s) and/or artist(s) which produced the comic in question. It is believed that
the use of low-resolution images of the cover of a comic book to illustrate:
the issue of the comic book in question;
the periodical comic book series of which this issue is a part; or
the copyrighted comic book character(s) or group(s) on the cover of the issue in question;
or the use of low-resolution images of a single panel from a comic strip or an interior page of a comic book to illustrate:
the scene or storyline depicted, or
the copyrighted character(s) or group(s) depicted on the excerpted panel in question;
where no free alternative exists or can be created,
