Nightstalkers #17

Part of Marvel's Midnight Sons line, Nightstalkers #17 (1994) puts Blade front and center — literally — as the vampire hunter drives a stake or blade downward into a foe while another enemy goes flying, with a third figure visible in the background, the bold tagline "BLADE ALONE!" making clear he's facing these threats without backup. Ed Murr's cover pencils and Frank Turner's inks deliver a kinetic, hard-hitting composition bursting with energy against a fiery red background. With a story titled "The Bride of Dracula," this issue promises the kind of supernatural menace that made the Midnight Sons corner of the Marvel universe such a compelling destination in 1994.