"The New Mutants" The Demon Bear Saga
When Mirage is severely injured after a confrontation with the mystical Demon Bear, the same creature believed to be responsible for the deaths of her parents, it's up to her teammates The New Mutants to find a way to thwart the deviant machinations of the sinister entity before it infects the world with it's shadow. Meanwhile, Mirage clings to life in the Mid-County Medical Center near Salem, New York, unable to aid her friends in their fight.
"The Punisher" The Slavers
The Punisher is staking out the location of a drug dealer from Eastern Europe. Just as Frank Castle is about to kill the drug dealer a woman opens fire on the dealer and his men but doesn't kill him. The Punisher kills the dealer and his men and the woman begs for his help. The Punisher hears her story and knows a lot of people need to die.
"The Sandman" Brief Lives
Brief Lives is the second-longest arc in Neil Gaiman's Sandman epic (at the time it was the longest). Spanning nine issues, it makes up the entirety of what would become the seventh collection in the series. It was in the middle of serializing this arc that Sandman moved to Vertigo.