Mutant X #7

The cover of Mutant X #7 promises plenty of intrigue with its bold "Rise of the Five?!" tagline framing a striking assembly of five mutant figures — a red-haired woman in purple and gold at the center, flanked by a blonde figure in blue-and-pink, a bald woman with glowing red eyes, a crouching icy blue creature in the foreground, and a looming green-skinned hulking presence dominating the background. Cary Nord's pencils and Andrew Pepoy's inks give the whole composition a charged, fiery energy against that explosive yellow-orange backdrop. Howard Mackie's "The Season of the Witch" sounds like exactly the kind of story this moody, atmospheric lineup deserves.