Criminal Macabre: The Big Bleed Out #2

The second chapter of Steve Niles and Gyula Németh's four-part "The Big Bleed Out" delivers a cover that sets the tone perfectly — a grim-faced man grips a pistol in the foreground while a red-eyed ghoul looms at his back and a bat-winged creature hovers ominously above. Németh's painted artwork layers these supernatural threats with a quiet, creeping dread that feels more noir than monster-movie, which is exactly the Criminal Macabre sweet spot. If issue one left you wanting more of this moody collision between hard-boiled attitude and creature-feature menace, this installment looks ready to deliver.