Ragnarök #9

Walter Simonson's Ragnarök #9 from IDW delivers a striking cover that says plenty about what's at stake — a white-haired, skull-faced warrior raises a gleaming hammer skyward into a burst of radiant light, while a smiling, enigmatic giant face looms in the shadowy background behind him. The tension between that triumphant upraised weapon and the unnerving grin hovering over the scene sets the tone beautifully for an issue titled "The Games of Life and Death." Simonson's linework crackles with mythic energy, and Laura Martin's cool blue-and-violet palette gives the whole image an otherworldly, haunting atmosphere.