Be Not Afraid #4

The fourth issue of BOOM! Studios' Be Not Afraid arrives with a cover that transforms something warmly familiar into something quietly unsettling — a white-frosted birthday cake, its candles burning in a darkened room, speckled with what might be seeds or something less appetizing, a lone fork resting on the table beside it. Reiko Murakami's painted cover work is beautifully restrained, letting the mundane details do the heavy lifting as comfort curdles into dread. If the series has been building toward something, this image suggests the celebration ahead may not be one you'd want an invitation to.