Animal Man #26

Jeff Lemire's New 52 run on Animal Man delivers a striking confrontation in this February 2014 issue, with cover art by Rafael Albuquerque showing a massively powerful, horned figure looming over a straining Animal Man, whose spiked, bestial hands suggest he's drawing on everything the Red has to offer. The size disparity between the two — and that burning, red-eyed glare from above — makes the stakes of "Godseed" feel immediately visceral. Cully Hamner brings the interior pages to life, and with Lemire at the helm, this is New 52 superhero storytelling at its most raw and mythic.