Imperial #4

Three figures share a park bench in this quietly striking cover by Mark Dos Santos: a crowned, caped superhero sits arms-folded at one end, radiating calm authority beneath a faint halo, while a young woman and a dark-haired man engage in an intimate conversation at the other end, seemingly unaware of their extraordinary bench companion. The restrained, watercolor-tinged palette gives the whole scene an understated, almost literary quality that sets Imperial apart from louder superhero fare. Steven T. Seagle's series continues to look like one of 2014's more thoughtful takes on what it means to live alongside — or perhaps become — a hero.