Matador #5

The penultimate chapter of Devin Grayson and Brian Stelfreeze's six-part "Suspicion" arc arrives with one of 2005's most arresting WildStorm covers — a close, low-angle image of a cold-eyed figure aiming a pistol directly at the viewer, his piercing blue eyes the only real color in an otherwise steel-grey composition. Stelfreeze's cover work here is quietly commanding, using bold, simplified shapes and a circular ripple effect behind the figure to create real tension without a single wasted line. If the series has been building pressure, this image makes clear the release point is very nearly at hand.