Fatale #13

Sean Phillips's stark cover for Fatale #13 sets a striking tone: a dark-haired woman in a wide-brimmed hat and poncho stands amid a graveyard of wooden crosses, revolver in hand, her expression taut against a blood-red background. The title "Down the Darkest Trail" signals that Ed Brubaker and Phillips are steering their supernatural noir into new, sun-scorched territory. It's a compelling image that makes this 2013 Image issue feel like the opening frame of a very dangerous Western.