Daredevil: End of Days #4

The fourth chapter of this eight-part Marvel limited series announces itself with quiet devastation: a lifeless, bloodied hand rests on a grime-spattered floor, two playing cards — an ace of clubs and an ace of diamonds — slipping from its loosening grip, with a third card face-down nearby. Alex Maleev's painted cover renders the scene with an almost forensic stillness, the scattered blood and ashen skin saying everything the title End of Days promises. With Bendis, Mack, Janson, Sienkiewicz, and Hollingsworth all contributing, this is a series that wears its mature, noir sensibilities right on its sleeve — or in this case, its cuff.