Pretty Deadly #5

The fifth and final issue of this haunting 2014 Image series closes out its first arc with a cover as spare and atmospheric as the American frontier itself — a skeletal, wind-stripped tree dominates the dusty landscape, a noose and a string of beads dangling from its branches while a weathered, long-haired gunfighter reaches toward them, a bison drifting through the barren distance behind him. Emma Ríos's linework and Jordie Bellaire's muted, sun-bleached palette give the scene an eerie stillness that feels equally mythic and mournful. Kelly Sue DeConnick's bold genre-blending vision wraps up beautifully here, and this cover alone rewards a long, quiet look.