Richard Stark's Parker #2

Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Stark's The Outfit is a masterpiece of graphic storytelling, and this 2009 IDW hardcover makes that immediately clear. The cover sets a perfectly menacing tone: Parker's cold, half-shadowed eye looms large in the foreground while a lineup of suited figures stands in silhouette against a stark red backdrop — a visual shorthand for one man's dangerous collision with organized crime. With Cooke handling every creative role — writing, art, inks, color, and lettering — this is a remarkably unified artistic vision from cover to final page.