Astonishing X-Men #30

Cyclops dominates the foreground of Simone Bianchi's cover for issue #30, visor blazing with a blinding optic beam as his mouth opens in what looks like either a battle cry or sheer strain. Surrounding him is a haunting collage of figures — a feral Wolverine looming to one side, a rocky-skinned creature, an armored warrior crackling with red energy, and several other combatants pressing in from behind, with a figure who recalls Storm raising electricity above them all. Wrapping up Warren Ellis's "Ghost Box" arc in 2009, this concluding chapter promises the kind of high-stakes, visually intense storytelling that made this creative team's run so memorable.