The Authority #2

Part two of "The Circle" arrives with a cover by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary that crackles with raw urgency — a white-suited woman clutches a child atop a crumbling, blood-streaked structure while lightning tears through a blood-red sky and two more frightened children cling to the debris around her. The scene radiates both protectiveness and peril, perfectly capturing the high-stakes tone Warren Ellis and Hitch brought to this Wildstorm series in 1999. If this second chapter is anything like its striking cover suggests, The Authority is already shaping up to be one of the year's most visually arresting superhero books.