Brilliant #4

Bendis and Bagley's creator-owned series for Marvel's Icon imprint reaches its fourth chapter, and the cover makes a striking statement: a young figure surges upward, fist raised toward a blinding circular light, while jagged shards of debris are sent flying outward in every direction by sheer force of power. Mark Bagley's pencils and Joe Rubinstein's inks give the image a raw, kinetic energy — this feels like someone discovering exactly what they're capable of, and it's unsettling in the best way. If you've been following this 2012 series about college students and superhuman potential, this cover alone suggests the stakes have escalated considerably.