Shade, the Changing Man #40

Peter Milligan, Glyn Dillon, and Philip Bond bring their unsettling sensibilities to this October 1993 Vertigo chapter, titled "Stains, Pains & Automobiles." The cover — painted by Chris Bachalo — fills the frame with Shade's blue-tinted face looming large, the word "Guilt." inscribed across his forehead in pale lettering, his hollow eyes carrying a weight that's hard to look away from. It's the kind of haunting, painterly image that made this mature-readers series one of DC Vertigo's most emotionally raw offerings of its era.