Sleeper: Season Two #7

Sean Phillips's stark cover for Sleeper: Season Two #7 sets an unsettling tone — a suited figure tumbles helplessly against a bold red background, arms and legs splayed, caught in the grip of enormous white hands that dwarf him completely. The design is striking in its simplicity, conveying a visceral sense of powerlessness that fits perfectly with the "Pawns and Kings" story title. Ed Brubaker and Phillips were doing some of their finest noir work together in 2005, and this Wildstorm mature-readers series remains a compelling deep cut for fans of espionage crime comics.