Mystique #2

Marvel's shape-shifting anti-heroine takes center stage in this second chapter of "Dead Drop Gorgeous," with a cover by Joseph Michael Linsner that's all cool confidence — Mystique, blue-skinned and red-haired, raises a pistol above her head against a swirling crimson tribal backdrop, her yellow eyes half-lidded in calm defiance. Brian K. Vaughan and Jorge Lucas continue their 2003 spy-thriller take on one of the X-Men universe's most compelling morally ambiguous figures. It's a striking package that makes clear this series has no intention of playing it safe.