Spawn #156

Philip Tan and Danny Miki deliver a gripping close-up of Spawn's battle-worn face dominating this 2006 Image Comics issue — his hollowed, skull-like visage blazing with sickly yellow-green hellfire energy against a brooding backdrop of deep crimson and shadow. The raw, textured detail of the necrotic mask is genuinely unsettling in the best possible way, the kind of cover that stops you cold in the shop. With David Hine steering the story and a full creative team bringing the interior pages to life, Spawn #156 is a compelling entry in the series' mid-2000s run.