Sheltered #9

A young woman stands dead-center on this striking cover — hair whipping in a wintry wind, a bruise darkening one eye, and a pistol tucked at her waist — surrounded by drifting red snowflakes that give the scene a quietly ominous chill. Johnnie Christmas's linework captures both vulnerability and steely resolve in equal measure, while Shari Chankhamma's coloring keeps the palette spare and haunting. Sheltered: A Pre-Apocalyptic Tale #9 makes a strong visual case that survival, even in 2014's Image lineup, is rarely simple or clean.