Dead Boy Detectives #12

Spinning out of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Vertigo's Dead Boy Detectives reaches its twelfth issue with a cover that's equal parts eerie and clever. Mark Buckingham's artwork centers on a smartphone screen flashing "GAME OVER" while a wide-eyed, visibly terrified young woman stares back at the viewer, framed by pale, pressing hands — and in the unsettling background, the two ghost-boy detectives pick their way through a surreal landscape of giant cranes and roses. It's a genuinely inventive visual that mixes digital dread with the series' signature supernatural strangeness, brought to life by a creative team including writer Toby Litt and colorist Lee Loughridge.