Prison Pit #5

Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit returns for its fifth installment, and the cover alone makes a vivid case for the series' gleefully unhinged energy. A monstrous mechanical skull on spider-like legs dominates the scene, with a pink, armored warrior riding atop it and swinging a spiked chain, while smaller combatants scatter across a blood-splattered ground littered with weapons and severed limbs. Ryan's raw, cartoonishly brutal line work — every inch rendered by his hand — captures exactly the kind of deranged, over-the-top mayhem that has made this Fantagraphics series a must-read for fans of extreme underground comics.