Sandman #2

From the very first pages of Neil Gaiman's run, Sandman announced itself as something genuinely different, and issue #2 deepens that promise with a Dave McKean cover that feels more like a painted fever dream than a comic book image. A sleeping figure rests in soft, luminous hues while a pale owl with glowing red eyes watches from the shadows, the whole scene framed by shelves crowded with mysterious jars and specimens. It's an unsettling, quietly beautiful composition that perfectly suits the subtitle Master of Dreams.