Joe the Barbarian #2

The second chapter of Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy's eight-part Vertigo series arrives with a cover that perfectly captures its blending of the fantastical and the vulnerable: a towering armored warrior in a sweeping dark cloak strides forward through rain-lashed chaos, sword in hand, while a wide-eyed young boy shelters close behind — and a massive, skull-like visage blazes in explosive fire and debris in the background. Sean Murphy's linework crackles with kinetic energy, selling both the overwhelming scale of the threat and the fragile humanity at the story's heart. i09 called it "genuinely incredible, very very highly recommended," and this cover alone makes a compelling case for why Joe the Barbarian was one of 2010's most striking Vertigo offerings.