Locke & Key: Head Games #2

Gabriel Rodriguez's cover for this second chapter of Head Games is a genuinely clever piece of work — a child's skull rendered as a phrenology diagram, its colorful labeled sections mapping out a kid's mental landscape: "Magic Keys," "Comics," "Mom," "Dad," "Secrets," "Bad Thoughts," and a dozen other wonderfully telling compartments. The mechanical key fitted into the base of the skull ties the whole image back to Joe Hill and Rodriguez's signature mythology with quiet elegance. It's the kind of cover that rewards a long look, and makes a strong case for why this series earned such devoted readers in 2009.