Black Lightning: Year One #2

The second chapter of DC's 2009 origin miniseries puts Black Lightning right in the thick of it — the cover by Cully Hamner shows him crackling with electric energy, hooded and fierce, shielding an injured civilian while a ring of armed gunmen close in from every angle. It's a tense, beautifully composed standoff that captures exactly the kind of street-level heroism at the heart of this series. Jen Van Meter and Hamner are building something genuinely compelling here, and this cover alone makes a strong case for reading every issue.