Hellboy: Darkness Calls #4

Part four of six in this compelling 2007 Dark Horse miniseries, and Mike Mignola's cover makes the stakes unmistakably clear — a gaunt, robed figure looms large above Hellboy, his dark cloak billowing with a mass of skulls that nearly swallows the frame, while a bristling, arrow-pierced Hellboy stands his ground below, small but defiant, a tiny skull at his feet. The contrast in scale between the two figures gives the image a genuine sense of dread without resorting to melodrama. Duncan Fegredo handles the interior art, making this a strong creative pairing between Mignola's atmospheric cover work and Fegredo's storytelling chops.