The Books of Magic #2

The second installment of Neil Gaiman's four-part prestige series, with painted cover art by Scott Hampton that immediately signals the scope of what's inside. Against a smoldering orange sky, a pale dark-haired woman in white rises above a churning mass of figures — a snarling werewolf, a top-hatted gentleman, a pale androgynous figure, a tentacled creature, and other unsettling presences crowding the foreground. It's a striking image that captures the series' blend of wonder and menace as "The Shadow World" beckons.