Goddess #2

Phil Winslade's painted-style cover for this second chapter of Garth Ennis's Vertigo series presents a tense, unsettling scene: a gruff older man in a heavy coat grips a gun while lurking near the iron fence of a gloomy brick house, flanked by what appear to be grotesque, decaying figures — one a skeletal form propped with a sign, the other a ghoulish face half-hidden in the overgrowth. The atmosphere is thick with dread, the stormy purple sky and weathered "keep out" warnings setting a mood that feels equal parts darkly comic and genuinely threatening. If issue #1 left you intrigued by Ennis's signature blend of gritty humanity and the macabre, "Hit the Road, Jack" looks like a worthy next step.