Criminal The Sinners #1

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips return to their hard-boiled crime universe with Criminal: The Sinners Part One, and Sean Phillips's cover sets the mood immediately — a hard-faced man in a coat holds a pistol against a searing crimson and pink background, bullet holes punctuating the bold title treatment like punctuation marks from a bad neighborhood. The stark graphic design, all high-contrast reds and deep shadows, perfectly captures the uncompromising noir atmosphere this series is known for. If you've been following Brubaker and Phillips's Criminal work, this 2009 opener from Icon is exactly the kind of first chapter that makes you clear your evening.