Daken: Dark Wolverine #6

Part three of the "Empire Act 2" arc arrives with a cover that crackles with menace — Daken lunges forward with claws bared and a feral snarl, while a sword-wielding woman in purple strikes back with her own blade in what looks like a mid-air clash above a city alleyway. Giuseppe Camuncoli's pencils give both figures a kinetic, coiled energy that makes the confrontation feel genuinely dangerous. With Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu co-writing and the "Fear Itself" banner in the corner, this 2011 issue sits at a compelling intersection of Daken's ongoing story and one of Marvel's biggest events of the year.