Before Watchmen: Moloch #2

The concluding chapter of J. Michael Straczynski and Eduardo Risso's two-part look at one of the Watchmen universe's most enigmatic villains, this 2013 issue carries a quietly unnerving cover by Risso: a King of Spades playing card depicting an armored figure holding scales of justice and a dagger is surrounded by blood-spattered blue-backed cards tumbling through darkness. It's a striking visual that frames Moloch's story in the language of fate and consequence, suggesting a man weighed and found wanting. "The Eleven-Thirty Absolution" is a compelling title to close on, hinting at reckoning and redemption in equal measure.