Shade, the Changing Man #33

Shade's anguished face dominates this unsettling Vertigo cover, surrounded by a swirling collage of knives, scissors, a fork, and newspaper clippings — all radiating from what appears to be a washing machine churning with psychedelic madness. Chris Bachalo's mixed-media artwork captures the series' signature blend of surrealism and dread perfectly, tying into the "Birth Pains" story arc that begins here. Peter Milligan and Bachalo were firing on all cylinders in 1993, and this issue's cover alone makes a compelling case for picking it up.