New Avengers: Luke Cage #1

This 2010 Marvel limited series puts the spotlight squarely on Luke Cage in the first of three issues, with a cover by Eric Canete and colors by Chris Chuckry that set a gritty, street-level tone. Cage dominates the image — massive, scarred, and studded with what appear to be embedded projectiles — flanked by a gold-and-black armored figure on the left and Spider-Man lurking in the shadows on the right, the whole trio framed against a deep crimson background. John Arcudi's "Town Without Pity" promises exactly the kind of hard-edged story that title suggests, and this cover makes a compelling case for why Cage deserves his own showcase.