Monstress #42

Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's acclaimed dark fantasy continues with issue #42, and Takeda's cover art alone makes a compelling case for the series' singular visual identity. Three young figures — one dark-haired at center, flanked by a wide-eyed girl and a blonde child with cat ears — are ensnared in a web of dark tendrils, loomed over by an ominous, many-eyed creature with a small cat perched atop it, all rendered in Takeda's hauntingly delicate ink-and-color style. It's a cover that balances quiet dread with genuine beauty, exactly the mood that has made Monstress one of Image Comics' most visually distinctive ongoing series.