Rats

Paris has Notre Dame, New York has those two big towers, and we've got Mickey. Walt Disney's creation is iconic, and until Rachel Bilson grows a bigger set—of ears, you perv—Mickey will represent. Hence his frequent appearance on our covers—eight times in 10 years, well ahead of George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, No Doubt and Bob Dornan (three covers each).

Top, from left: (1) Mark Dancey force-fed Mickey for Joel Beers' recent visit to Disneyland with a fat guy. (2) Dancey depicted Mr. & Mrs. Mouse as carnies for our prediction that California Adventure would bomb. (3) Illustrator Lloyd Dangle: his Hitchcockian illustration of the mouse for our 1997 exposé. (4) Bob Aul depicted Mickey as a caveman for Paul Brennan's report on the 2002 discovery of Mickey in a 14th-century Austrian fresco.

Bottom, from left: (5) Dangle's cover predicting (correctly) that Disney's 1995 purchase of the cursed Angels would destroy the entertainment conglomerate. (6) Robert Pokorny's image for our guide to the Angels' 1998 season. (7) This image reminds us that mere blocks from the Happiest Place on Earth, thousands live in squalor. (8) Mickey pops up for Steve Lowery's marathon day at the park.