Firestorm #6

This December 2004 tie-in to DC's Identity Crisis event delivers one of the most striking covers of that year: Firestorm's costumed figure lies motionless on the ground before a gravestone inscribed "Here Lies Ronnie Raymond," with flames and black smoke billowing ominously beside him. Cover pencils by ChrisCross and inks by Mick Gray give the scene a raw, unsettling weight that sets the tone perfectly for Dan Jolley's story "Joyride," with interior art by Chris Batista and Dan Green. If you're following the Identity Crisis crossover, this is one issue whose cover alone makes it hard to put back on the shelf.