Mutant X #27

Howard Mackie, Tom Lyle, and Andrew Pepoy bring another chapter of Marvel's alternate-universe series with issue #27, subtitled "The Challenge." The cover, rendered by Michael Golden, centers on a white-haired woman with red eyes — caught in a moment of distress, her dark flowing cloak billowing around her as an unseen hand grips her throat — while several shadowy figures loom in the lush green background. It's a striking, tense image that sets a genuinely ominous mood for whatever confrontation lies ahead.