Hellcop #1

Image Comics opened the door to a genuinely strange new corner of their universe in 1998 with Hellcop #1, featuring a cool, badge-wearing protagonist perched atop a massive, writhing creature — gun in one hand, staff in the other — while a looming demonic face rises behind him and shadowy figures lurk below. Gilbert Monsanto's cover work packs an impressive amount of menace and attitude into a single image, establishing a world where law enforcement and the infernal seem to collide in spectacular fashion. With Joe Casey scripting and Brian Haberlin and Andy Troy bringing vivid color to the chaos, this opener promises a series with plenty of supernatural muscle behind it.