Angel: After the Fall #17

Angel: After the Fall #17 takes a playfully self-aware turn, presenting its cover as a mock magazine spread — Angel himself strides forward amid a swirl of floating photographs and paparazzi silhouettes, while side panels tease Illyria (blue-haired and piercing-eyed), a brooding blue-skinned figure, and a heated split-panel confrontation between Spike and a red-haired woman. Alex Garner's cover art balances dramatic atmosphere with genuine wit, and with Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch at the helm alongside Franco Urru's interior art, this 2009 IDW installment captures the irreverent spirit that made the "After the Fall" arc such a rewarding continuation of the television series.