Incredible Hulk #39

Kaare Andrews delivers a hauntingly beautiful cover for this 2002 issue, centering a robed woman with hands clasped in prayer, gazing upward as a column of warm golden light frames her against a deep crimson darkness — while a prone, unconscious figure lies at her feet. The looming, shadowy suggestion of the Hulk pressing in from the edges gives the whole image an uneasy, almost spiritual tension that sets a striking tone. With Bruce Jones writing and John Romita Jr. and Tom Palmer handling interior art, Incredible Hulk #39 promises the kind of moody, character-driven storytelling this creative team does so well.