Realm of Kings Imperial Guard #4

The penultimate chapter of this five-part Realm of Kings limited series arrives with a cover by Brian Haberlin that immediately commands attention — a massive, star-speckled figure looms in the foreground, fist raised and teeth bared with barely contained fury, while smaller combatants trade energy blasts against a fiery, apocalyptic sky. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's cosmic storytelling, brought to life by artist Kevin Walker and colorist Nathan Fairbairn, has been pushing the Imperial Guard to their limits, and this image suggests the pressure is nowhere near letting up. With one issue left to go, issue #4 carries the weight of a team tested to its breaking point across some of Marvel's most ambitious cosmic territory of 2010.