Sin City: That Yellow Bastard #4

Part four of six in Frank Miller's noir saga, and this cover makes an immediate impression: a hairless, jaundiced figure in a dark coat dominates the frame, his unsettling yellow complexion and hooded expression casting an ominous shadow against a pale, rain-streaked wall — with a discarded syringe lying at his feet adding one more layer of dread. Miller's stark, high-contrast artwork strips the image down to its essentials, letting the grotesque stillness of this figure speak volumes. If you've been following That Yellow Bastard since part one, this 1996 Dark Horse installment keeps the tension wound tight right through the cover alone.