A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1

Mark Brooks's cover for this opening chapter assembles an extraordinary congregation of Marvel's mightiest — Captain America front and center, Iron Man and Thor rising behind him, flanked by waves of X-Men including Storm, Rogue, and Cyclops on one side and Eternals such as Ikaris and Sersi on the other, all dwarfed by a looming, lightning-wreathed Celestial structure overhead. The sheer density of recognizable faces signals exactly what writer Kieron Gillen and artist Valerio Schiti are setting out to do: bring the Avengers, X-Men, and Eternals together in a collision that feels genuinely momentous. With Marte Gracia's electric color work making the whole composition crackle, this is one of those first issues that makes it very easy to clear your schedule for an afternoon.