Stormwatch #45

Warren Ellis's run on Stormwatch was quietly reshaping the superhero landscape in 1997, and this February issue puts that tension front and center. The cover by Tom Raney and Randy Elliott presents a massive, green-skinned powerhouse — shackled at the wrists with heavy chains yet radiating barely-contained defiance, his torn costume bearing an X-cross pattern across the chest. It's a striking image of physical dominance meeting forced restraint, and it sets an unmistakably charged tone for whatever lies inside.