Savage Dragon #222

Part of Image Comics' 25th anniversary celebration, Savage Dragon #222 arrives in 2017 with a cover by Erik Larsen that crackles with raw, kinetic energy — a muscular man in street clothes clutches a young girl with dreadlocks close while raising a massive fist, both of them caught in a swirling storm of fire and debris. The story is titled "Only the Strong," and that sentiment feels perfectly matched to the protective desperation visible on the cover. Larsen's work, colored here by Nikos Koutsis and Mike Toris, gives the scene an urgent, visceral charge that's hard to look away from.