Rann / Thanagar War #5

Two winged warriors collide in fierce aerial combat on this fiery cover — Hawkman and Hawkgirl streak toward the viewer amid a blazing orange backdrop, weapons raised and feathers flying, perfectly capturing the "Wings of War!" tagline. This is the penultimate chapter of DC's six-issue 2005 miniseries, written by Dave Gibbons with cover art penciled by Ivan Reis and inked by Marc Campos, and the intensity on display makes it easy to see why the Rann–Thanagar War made such an impression that year. If you've been following this interstellar conflict, issue #5 — subtitled "Betrayed" — promises the kind of escalating stakes the cover so vividly telegraphs.