Kick-Ass #2

Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s irreverent superhero series pulls no punches with this second issue, and the cover makes that abundantly clear: the costumed would-be hero Kick-Ass lies sprawled and bloodied on the pavement, a bo staff and knife scattered nearby, the tagline "Sickening Violence: Just the Way You Like It!" saying everything you need to know about the book's tone. John Romita Jr.'s cover art captures the brutal, unglamorous reality of a regular kid who decided to put on a mask, rendered with visceral detail that sets this series firmly apart from sunnier superhero fare. If this 2008 series wasn't already on your radar, this cover alone signals that Millar and Romita Jr. are doing something genuinely different with the genre.