Sandman Mystery Theatre #16

This July 1994 DC Vertigo issue brings "The Vamp" arc to its conclusion — part four of four — with a cover by Gavin Wilson that blends moody photographic and illustrated elements into something genuinely unsettling. A pale blond woman dominates the upper half, her expression distant and eerie, while a circular reflective orb below captures the silhouette of a fedora-wearing figure, and a fragmented image of a face with what appears to be a syringe completes the triptych of dread. With Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle writing and Guy Davis on art, Sandman Mystery Theatre at its mid-1994 peak delivers the kind of noir atmosphere that sets this series apart from anything else on the stands.