Buffy the Vampire Slayer #40

There's a deceptively cheerful contrast at work on Jeff Matsuda's cover for this 2001 Dark Horse issue — Buffy laughing alongside a red-haired companion on what looks like a sunny campus day, while looming overhead are several grotesque, grinning demon faces that hint at something far more sinister lurking beneath the surface. A watchful figure stands apart in the background as a crowd of students mills about, blissfully unaware of the monstrous presence hovering above them. With "Ugly Little Monsters Part 1" kicking off a new story arc from writers Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe, this issue promises a sharp tonal blend of everyday teenage life and supernatural dread.