Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23

Buffy Summers stands front and center on this Dark Horse cover, stake in hand and eyes sharp, while looming behind her are two menacing figures — a suited, silver-haired man and a snarling, glowing-eyed demon creature — rendered in deep purples that give the whole image an ominously atmospheric feel. The composition perfectly captures the tension at the heart of "The Blood of Carthage (Part 3)," with Buffy poised between human-seeming danger and something far more monstrous. Cover pencils by Jeff Matsuda and inks by Jon Sibal, with interior work from the creative team of Christopher Golden, Cliff Richards, Paul Lee, and Brian Horton rounding out a strong 2000 entry in this beloved series.