Spike: The Devil You Know #1

IDW's Spike: The Devil You Know #1 kicks off a standalone miniseries for Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fan-favorite vampire, and Franco Urru's cover sets an immediately compelling tone. The image places a bleach-blond, black-coated Spike back-to-back with a blue-skinned, horned demon, the two figures flanked by ghostly faces of additional supernatural threats lurking in the shadows — blood-spattered edges framing the whole composition with a suitably dark atmosphere. It's a striking visual promise of an uneasy alliance (or rivalry) ahead, rendered with confident linework by Urru, who handled both pencils and inks.