Northlanders #15

Part five of "The Cross + The Hammer" arrives with a cover by Massimo Carnevale that pulls no punches — a wide-eyed figure in a cross-emblazoned tunic clutches a bloodied hand against a rugged, rocky landscape, a massive sword dominating the foreground. The raw tension on that face, caught somewhere between fear and resolve, perfectly captures the brutal collision of faith and violence that defines Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's Viking-age Vertigo series. With one chapter left in the arc, this 2009 issue promises the kind of unsparing storytelling that has made Northlanders one of mature comics' most compelling reads.