Shadowpact #24

Matthew Sturges and Phil Winslade usher in a fresh era for DC's supernatural team with this 2008 issue, whose tagline — "Stand Back, Old Guard! Here Comes the New Shadowpact" — sets the tone perfectly. Winslade's cover assembles the revamped roster in striking fashion: a blue-skinned, horned demon figure anchors the foreground alongside a cloaked, armored warrior and a hunched, intelligent-looking ape, while behind them a winged angelic figure with glowing energy hovers above a green-costumed woman in flowing robes, and two more teammates streak through a fiery explosion to the left. It's a confident, atmospheric introduction to the second chapter of "The Burning Age," promising plenty of magical mayhem still to come.