Incredible Hulk #42

A stark, high-contrast cover by Kaare Andrews sets an unmistakably grim tone for this 2002 issue — a powerfully built, bare-chested figure kneels at the center while a ring of silhouetted men close in around him, one raising what appears to be a weapon overhead. The spare black-and-white composition, splashed against that bold red title logo, feels more like a crime thriller than a superhero book, which fits perfectly with the suspenseful direction Bruce Jones, Lee Weeks, and Tom Palmer had been bringing to The Incredible Hulk. "All Fall Down" promises exactly the kind of tension that cover delivers.