A Star Called the Sun #[nn]

Framed by a striking decorative border that evokes both ancient textile patterns and something otherworldly, this Image anthology from Simon Roy, Sergei Nazarov, and Drew Shields immediately signals a rich, strange universe. The cover sets the tone beautifully: a rugged, road-worn man stands beside a towering, giraffe-patterned alien creature that moves on all fours yet carries a primitive spear, the two of them posed against a sun-bleached desert landscape of jutting rock formations and crystalline flora. It's the kind of lived-in, alien-yet-familiar world-building that makes you want to dig into every short story inside.