Bishop: XSE #2

Bishop dominates this brooding 1998 cover, leveling a pistol dead-on at the viewer with steely intensity, while two other figures — one with distinctive visor-like eyewear — loom large in the background against a glowing city skyline. Steve Epting's pencils and Mark Prudeaux's inks give the composition a cinematic, noir-tinged weight that suits the Xavier Security Enforcer's grim world perfectly. With John Ostrander at the helm for "Rook vs. Bishop," this second issue promises the kind of sharp, tension-driven storytelling that made this series a compelling corner of the Marvel universe.