Hellblazer #90

Issue #90 of DC Vertigo's long-running occult series finds John Constantine rendered in striking, almost sculptural form — a shirtless, white-haired figure whose arms are pinned at his sides as a massive iridescent serpent coils tightly around his entire body. Sean Phillips's cover work gives the image a painterly intensity, with the snake's blue-green scales rendered in gorgeous detail against a stark background accented by esoteric symbols along the left border. Paul Jenkins and Phillips were clearly in ambitious territory with "Dangerous Ground," and this June 1995 issue makes a powerful visual argument for exactly how much trouble Constantine can find himself in even without a cigarette in hand.