Fear Itself: The Fearless #2

Issue two of this twelve-part 2012 Marvel limited series sets an immediate tone of danger, with Arthur Adams's cover placing a fierce, armor-clad blonde warrior — braided hair, gleaming breastplate, and weapons in hand — pressed against a shadowed stone passage as a horned demonic figure leaps at her from above against a blood-red, full-moon sky. The tension Adams captures is visceral without being overwrought, making this a genuinely striking centerpiece for a story titled "Death Wish." With a creative team that includes writers Cullen Bunn, Matt Fraction, and Chris Yost alongside artists Mark Bagley and Paul Pelletier, The Fearless clearly brought serious firepower to the post-Fear Itself landscape.