Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9

This unsettling cover for issue #9 of IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets a dark, gripping tone — a battered, chained figure crouches behind metal bars in what appears to be a laboratory setting, a massive syringe lying ominously in the foreground alongside nearby computer equipment. Dan Duncan's detailed linework gives the scene a raw, almost cinematic intensity that feels perfectly suited to a story arc titled "Shadows of the Past." With the creative team of Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and colorist Ronda Pattison bringing their A-game, this 2012 issue promises the kind of serious, layered storytelling that made IDW's TMNT run stand out.