Scalped #5

Vertigo's unflinching crime series reaches the conclusion of its opening arc with this striking 2007 cover by Jock — a barefoot figure collapsed against a stark white background, handcuffs glinting at their wrist, a liquor bottle and a pair of nunchaku scattered nearby, all washed in a spreading pool of red. The image speaks volumes about the brutal cost of life on the reservation without saying a single word. Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra's Scalped announced itself early as one of the sharpest, most morally serious crime comics of its era.