Hellblazer #81

Glenn Fabry's cover for this September 1994 DC Vertigo issue is quietly haunting — a disheveled, weary John Constantine sits hunched before a cracked stained-glass window, cigarette in hand and a bottle dangling at his side, looking every bit a man carrying the weight of something he can't quite shake. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon are at the helm for part four of "Rake at the Gates of Hell," a story arc that has clearly pushed Constantine to a dark, contemplative edge. If you're following this run, this issue's mood of bruised solitude makes it a compelling entry point into one of Vertigo's most distinctive series of 1994.