Stormwatch: Team Achilles #7

This WildStorm title takes a disarming detour with a poker-night cover by Whilce Portacio and Scott Williams, depicting five members of Team Achilles gathered around a chip-laden table under a single hanging lamp — including one massively built, visibly scarred figure who looks like he's barely fitting in his seat. The casual, lived-in setting (cluttered shelves, a whiteboard on the wall, a mysterious woman peering in from the upper corner) gives the team a refreshingly human dimension even as the tension at the table feels anything but relaxed. Micah Ian Wright and Mark Texeira's 2003 series continues to find compelling angles on a UN strike team operating in a world full of superhumans — and "Payback" sounds like the stakes are about to get a lot higher than poker chips.