No Mercy #9

This striking Image Comics issue presents one of the most quietly powerful covers in the series: a young person with eyes downcast, wearing a handmade sign reading "I AM A GIRL" decorated with small orange flowers, while a Google search bar above reads "troubled teen programs." The image is intimate and unsettling in equal measure, communicating volumes about identity, vulnerability, and the institutions that claim to help young people. The work of Lee, McNeil, and De Campi continues to show why No Mercy stood apart from other Image titles in 2016.