Empire: Uprising #2

Mark Waid and Barry Kitson's Empire: Uprising #2 arrives with a cover that crackles with danger — a figure in a red-and-black costume tumbles violently through the air amid a burst of crimson energy, gun in hand, while surrounding panels frame a stern older man, a sharp-eyed woman, a red-haired youth, and looming mechanical figures watching from the edges. Kitson's dynamic, panel-within-a-panel composition gives the whole thing an urgent, cinematic quality, with Chris Sotomayor's moody teal and red palette deepening the sense of peril. If this second issue is any indication, IDW's 2015 revival of this supervillain-ruled world is delivering exactly the kind of sharp, stylish tension the series promises.