Ghost in the Shell #1

Dark Horse's 1995 launch of Masamune Shirow's landmark cyberpunk manga brings one of science fiction's most compelling visions to American readers in this first of eight issues. The cover, penciled and inked by Shirow himself, presents a blue-haired cyborg woman reclining across a dense tangle of mechanical components and urban circuitry, pistol in hand, her body a striking fusion of human form and exposed mechanical joints and wiring. It's a single image that captures the series' central tension — flesh and machine intertwined — with a cool confidence that sets the tone perfectly for what follows.