Sin City: That Yellow Bastard #1

Frank Miller's stark cover for this 1996 Dark Horse series opener says everything without showing a face — a hulking silhouette, gun in hand, looms against a blazing red sun, all rendered in the brutal, high-contrast style Miller made his own. Sin City: That Yellow Bastard kicks off a six-part story with an image that feels equally menacing and mournful. At $2.95, it's a fine entry point into one of noir comics' most uncompromising corners.