Astro City #49

Alex Ross's painted cover for issue #49 sets a striking tone, placing a crowd of passionate, sign-wielding protesters — their fists raised and voices clearly raised in unison — alongside a luminous cast of super-powered figures rendered in vivid greens, whites, and reds, with a towering bronze statue looming at the right edge. The juxtaposition of ordinary citizens and extraordinary beings marching together gives the image a real sense of collective urgency that feels entirely at home in Astro City's humanist tradition. With Kurt Busiek, Brent E. Anderson, and Peter Pantazis bringing the story titled "Resistance" to life in January 2018, this is the series doing what it does best — finding the deeply human pulse beneath the superhero spectacle.