Protectors, Inc. #8

J. Michael Straczynski's noir-flavored superhero series hits its eighth chapter with a cover that pulses with urban tension — a determined man in a suit charges forward through a city alley while a full-sized car hurtles through the air above him and a glowing, energy-wielding figure streaks through the night sky in the background. Gordon Purcell's linework captures the collision of the ordinary and the extraordinary beautifully, with Michael Atiyeh's colors lending the nighttime scene a moody blue atmosphere punctuated by bursts of explosive light. If you've been following Protectors, Inc.'s grounded take on a world where superhumans operate alongside everyday law enforcement, this installment looks like a compelling escalation of that tension.