Sin City: A Dame to Kill For #3

Frank Miller's stark black-and-white cover for issue three of six says everything about the brutal world of Basin City — two hard-edged men fill the frame, one pressing a gun forward with grim intent while the other, battered and bald, glowers from the foreground with cold menace. The raw, high-contrast linework Miller delivers here is pure noir atmosphere, all shadow and threat with not a wasted mark. Midway through this six-part 1994 series, the tension on this cover alone makes it clear the story is heading somewhere very dark indeed.