Aliens: Colonial Marines #4

Issue four of this twelve-part Dark Horse series drops readers straight into a desperate, water-soaked struggle, and Joe Phillips's cover captures it vividly — one Colonial Marine is seized from behind by a snarling Xenomorph, while a second marine wades forward through churning water, pulse rifle raised and expression etched with alarm. The painted linework has a raw, kinetic energy that suits the relentless tension at the heart of this franchise perfectly. With Kelley Puckett scripting and Paul Guinan and Allen Nunis on interior art, Aliens: Colonial Marines was one of 1993's most ambitious Dark Horse ongoing series, and this installment shows the pressure only escalating.