Family Tree #9

A bearded, sunglasses-wearing figure stands half-swallowed by dense, encroaching foliage, gripping an axe while a gnarled, skull-like pendant hangs at his chest — Phil Hester and Eric Gapstur's cover for this 2020 Image series captures a sense of quiet menace beautifully. Jeff Lemire's Family Tree has always balanced the rural and the uncanny, and issue #9 leans hard into that atmosphere, with the creeping greenery practically consuming the man whole. If you've been following this series, this cover alone signals that things are getting stranger and more urgent.