Avengers Arena #18

Dave Johnson's cover for Avengers Arena #18 says it all with chilling economy: a group of young heroes dressed in school uniforms pose like a graduation photo, but nearly every face in the crowd is crossed out with a brutal red X — Murder World's grim tally rendered in stark black-and-white with that splash of red. The banner reading "Graduating Class of 2013" gives the whole image a darkly sardonic twist that perfectly captures the series' high-stakes premise as Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker bring "Boss Level" to its fifth and final chapter. If you've been following this series, this penultimate image of survivors and casualties makes issue #18 a genuinely gripping milestone.