Scalped #24

Scalped #24 closes out "The Gravel in Your Guts" arc with a cover by Jock that immediately commands attention — a massive revolver looms in the foreground, barrel pointed downward toward a tense rural scene below, where a car sits outside a ramshackle building bathed in an ominous amber glow. The composition perfectly captures the grinding, pressure-cooker atmosphere that Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra have made the hallmark of this Vertigo series. If you've been following this storyline, this February 2009 issue looks like a fitting, hard-edged payoff.