American Vampire: Second Cycle #9

Two armed women — one dark-haired, one blonde — press back-to-back against a chain-link fence beneath a blood-stained U.S. Air Force "Area 51" installation sign, guns raised and fangs bared in a tense standoff that makes their vampiric nature unmistakable. Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire: Second Cycle continues its "Dark Moon" arc with this fourth installment, and the cover — rendered and colored by Albuquerque and Dave McCaig — crackles with urgency and menace. If you've been following this Vertigo series through 2015, issue #9 makes a compelling case that the story is hitting its stride.