Secret Warriors #21

This 2010 Marvel series continues with issue #21, "Night," featuring a striking cover by penciler Jim Cheung and inker Tim Townsend that places a masked, red-faced warrior brandishing a sword in intense confrontation with a blonde woman in black who grips what appears to be a mallet — a massive skull looms ominously in the background. The tension between the two figures crackles with barely contained fury, and Cheung's dynamic linework gives the scene a real sense of momentum. With Jonathan Hickman writing and art from Mirko Colak and Alessandro Vitti, Secret Warriors remains one of 2010's sharper espionage-action titles.