Civil War: Front Line #9

This ninth chapter of Marvel's 2006 Civil War tie-in series keeps its focus on the human cost of superhero conflict, and the painted cover captures that tension beautifully — a distressed woman looks upward in alarm as Captain America's star-spangled shield looms large in the foreground, the composition suggesting both protection and overwhelming force at once. Paul Jenkins continues the "Embedded" storyline with art by Ramón Bachs, bringing a street-level journalist's perspective to the Marvel Universe's most divisive ideological battle. It's a quietly gripping entry in the Front Line run, with John Watson's cover work lending the whole thing a painterly, almost cinematic gravity.