American Virgin #12

Part three of the five-part "Wet" arc arrives with a cover by Joshua Middleton that immediately commands attention: a dark-jacketed young man clutches two pistols as he emerges from a bubbling pool, surrounded by three women lounging in the water around him — the tension on his face suggesting anything but a relaxing soak. Steven T. Seagle and Becky Cloonan's Vertigo series has always thrived on provocative juxtapositions, and this 2007 image delivers that energy in spades. If you've been following the arc, this one looks like the stakes are only climbing higher.