Mutopia X #5

The final issue of this five-part Marvel limited series arrives with one of the most unsettling cover images of 2006: a decaying apple crawling with maggots and flies rests in an outstretched human hand, with a streak of blood dripping down the left edge of the image. Andy Park's painted-style cover work delivers the rot and ruin of the Decimation era with quiet, visceral power — no capes, no explosions, just a profound sense of something once hopeful turned irreparably dark. David Hine, Lan Medina, and Alejandro "Boy" Sicat close out their exploration of post-Decimation mutant life with this haunting sendoff.