The Books of Magic #15

Peter Spalenka's haunting cover for this 1995 Vertigo series says everything without saying a word: a winged figure plummets headlong against a scorched amber sky, red fabric trailing behind them like a dying flame, the earth a pale sliver far below. The story arc is titled "Playgrounds, Part One: Hell and Back," and that image of a falling angel makes the destination feel entirely earned. Writer John Ney Rieber and artist Peter Snejbjerg continue their run on one of Vertigo's most atmospheric series, and this issue looks like a genuinely unsettling place to begin a new chapter.