Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #2

Vertigo's 2004 continuation of the Books of Magick universe hits its second issue with a Frank Quitely cover that puts four punk-inflected young characters front and center against a vivid magenta background — a girl in a puffer jacket, a tall figure in mirrored shades and a skull tee, a dark-haired girl in a Union Jack crop top and plaid skirt, and a green-mohawked guy clutching what appears to be the Books of Magick itself. Si Spencer's script and Dean Ormston's interior art carry the story into "Storm Warning," promising that whatever tension is brewing among this crew is about to escalate. It's a sharp, street-level aesthetic that sets the tone perfectly for a series threading magic through a gritty, contemporary world.