Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #15

Buffy charges into battle on this beautifully rendered cover by Georges Jeanty and inker Dexter Vines, sword in hand and surrounded by a swirling mass of dark, threatening figures — winged creatures and shadowy combatants pressing in from every direction. It's the concluding chapter of "Wolves at the Gate," written by Drew Goddard, and the cover captures the chaotic, high-stakes energy you'd expect from a four-part arc's finale. Dark Horse's Season Eight continues to deliver the Slayer in fine form, and this 2008 issue makes a compelling case for why the comics continuation earned such a devoted readership.