Critters #17

Tom Stazer's cover for Critters #17 sets a tense, wintry mood perfectly suited to the story inside, "Polar Bear Hunt! Part One" — a determined-looking anthropomorphic cat in a red jacket and a towering polar bear in a dark parka stand back-to-back on a snow-swept landscape, fists raised, while armed crow-like figures lurk menacingly in the background. The pink-and-purple twilight sky gives the whole scene a striking, almost cinematic atmosphere. Fantagraphics' beloved anthology continues to deliver the kind of character-driven, genre-blending furry adventure that made it a standout of 1987 independent comics.