Bulletproof Monk #1

The stark, minimalist cover of this 1998 Image release says plenty with very little — a fractured red star splinters apart against a deep black background, its geometric shards conveying both power and instability in equal measure. Mike Oeming's cover work here is striking in its restraint, letting bold design do the heavy lifting rather than cluttering the image. If the visual promise of Bulletproof Monk is anything like this arresting opener, readers were in for something genuinely different from the Image lineup of 1998.