Alabaster: The Good, the Bad, and the Bird #5

The concluding chapter of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Daniel Warren Johnson, and Carlos Badilla's five-part series arrives with a cover by Greg Ruth that is nothing short of breathtaking — a towering, horned creature astride an enormous lion looms over a hazy, palace-like cityscape, while a solitary small figure stands below with arms outstretched, dwarfed by the scale of it all. The warm, dusty palette of amber and crimson gives the image a mythic, almost dreamlike weight that feels entirely fitting for a finale. Dark Horse's 2016 series has consistently delivered Southern Gothic strangeness, and this closing image promises that the story ends on a grand, otherworldly note.