Justice League Dark #17

Three figures lie helpless on their backs, staring up in horror at a massive tangle of mechanical arms, whirring saw blades, glowing syringes, and crackling energy — whatever this "lab from hell" is, it does not look merciful. The cover tagline makes the stakes plain, and Mikel Janín's artwork sells every volt of dread in those upturned faces. Writers Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes bring "The Death of Magic" to its third chapter in this 2013 New 52 entry, and the title alone — "Prisoners of Epoch" — promises that the Justice League Dark's situation is about as dire as it gets.