Heavy Liquid #4

The penultimate chapter of Paul Pope's five-part Vertigo series arrives with a cover as coolly arresting as the story itself — a bold black-and-white figure of a woman holding a small object is set against a sweeping rainbow gradient that gives the whole image an almost psychedelic intensity. The bottom of the cover is designed like a passport or boarding pass, stamped "SCRAMJET/BOARDING" and featuring a smaller portrait of a male figure, adding a layered, worldly texture that's pure Pope. With every line and color choice handled by Pope himself (alongside colorist Lee Loughridge's vivid spectrum backdrop), this 2000 Vertigo release is a striking example of one creator's singular, unmistakable vision.