Animal Man #75

John Van Fleet's cover for this September 1994 milestone issue is a moody, sepia-drenched tableau that lingers in the mind — a lone figure stands atop a massive bull, arm outstretched toward a bird of prey in flight, while below him a tangle of animals (a zebra, dogs, a ram among them) sprawls across a weathered Route 66 sign. The dusty, almost painterly atmosphere perfectly suits the Vertigo imprint's mature sensibility, with utility lines and a crumbling wall lending the scene an air of desolate American highway mythology. Jamie Delano and Steve Pugh bring their run on this DC/Vertigo series to this landmark 75th issue with "Red Plague," promising the kind of intense, boundary-pushing storytelling the title had made its calling card by 1994.