Kill or Be Killed #6

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips bring their signature noir tension to issue six of this Image series, with Elizabeth Breitweiser's rich coloring giving the cover a striking, blood-red urgency. Sean Phillips puts an NYPD officer front and center — badge gleaming, pistol leveled directly at the viewer — framed against the warm, blurred glow of city streets and a patrol car behind him. It's a confrontational, street-level image that captures exactly the kind of pressure-cooker atmosphere this creative team does so well.