Empty Zone #4

Jason Shawn Alexander's painted cover for Empty Zone #4 pulls you in close — uncomfortably close — to a heavily built figure whose shaved head is studded with metallic implants, his expression cold and unreadable against a sickly yellow-green background. A second, similarly augmented face looms just behind him, adding a sense of menace and unease to the composition. Alexander's raw, textured brushwork gives this 2015 Image series a gritty, visceral atmosphere that sets it apart from anything else on the shelf.