Sleeper: Season Two #5

Sean Phillips's cover for Sleeper: Season Two #5 sets a tense, noir-drenched scene: a young man levels a pistol directly at a scarred, heavy-set figure in the foreground, while the looming red mask of a villain dominates the upper half of the image. Ed Brubaker and Phillips were doing some of their most gripping espionage noir work together in 2004, and this December issue — "Cat's Cradle" — captures that atmosphere of betrayal and confrontation perfectly. If you're following the undercover-operative tension of Season Two, this one looks like a pressure-cooker moment you won't want to miss.