Excalibur #99

Titled "Alas, Poor Douglock" right on the cover, this July 1996 issue of Excalibur presents a striking image courtesy of cover penciler Carlos Pacheco and inker Bob Wiacek: a tattooed, red-caped figure holds aloft the severed mechanical head of Douglock — golden-haired, half-organic, half-metal — perched dramatically on a stone pedestal in a clear nod to Shakespeare's Hamlet. At issue #99, Excalibur is barreling toward a milestone, and this haunting, theatrical cover makes a strong case for why Warren Ellis's run on the series had readers paying close attention.