Survivors' Club #5

Vertigo's Survivors' Club #5 from 2016 opens on a quietly devastating image by cover artist Bill Sienkiewicz: a young girl in a polka-dot shirt sits huddled on the ground, knees drawn up and face buried in her hands, while a ghostly, skull-like figure looms ominously behind her in the shadows. The muted, painterly tones give the scene an unsettling intimacy that perfectly captures the series' blend of childhood dread and supernatural horror. Writers Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen, along with artist Ryan Kelly and colorist Eva de la Cruz, continue "Secret Levels" — and if the cover is any indication, the darkness pressing in on these survivors shows no sign of letting up.