Green Lantern: New Guardians #10

Part of DC's New 52 initiative, Green Lantern: New Guardians #10 delivers a visceral cover by Tyler Kirkham and Matt Banning that pulls no punches: a battered Blue Lantern crawls bloodied across rocky terrain while a menacing, spike-adorned figure looms overhead, weapon raised, beneath a blood-red sky and the blunt tagline "Die, Blue Lantern, Die!" Writer Tony Bedard and artist Tomás Giorello bring "Beyond Hope, Conclusion" to its end, promising a chapter where hope itself seems to be losing the fight. If you've been following this New 52 team book, this 2012 issue looks like a genuinely tense payoff to an arc pushed to its breaking point.