The Books of Magic #20

A massive tome held by pale, skeletal hands dominates this striking 1996 Vertigo cover, its open pages releasing a coiling blue-green dragon, a dark-haired young woman, and a bespectacled boy into a swirling magical mist — alongside an enormous feather quill, a curious little cloaked figure, and dark winged creatures circling above. The story title, "The Knight, the Dragon, & the Maiden," finds a perfect visual echo in August Hall's richly layered cover art, where the boundary between reading a story and being consumed by one feels thrillingly thin. John Ney Rieber and John Ridgway's Books of Magic consistently delivered this kind of thoughtful, atmospheric fantasy, and issue #20 looks to be no exception.