The Books of Magic #29

Part three of "Rites of Passage" finds the Vertigo title in distinctly otherworldly desert territory — Michael Wm. Kaluta's cover depicts a striking green-skinned figure draped in flowing robes and a wide-brimmed hat perched atop a rocky outcrop tangled with nets and poles, while a backpack-laden boy sits nearby and a small, strangely dressed figure stands below them amid the cacti and arid landscape. There's a sense of an uneasy gathering of travelers from very different worlds, which feels entirely at home in John Ney Rieber and Peter Gross's ongoing exploration of magic and growing up. A quietly compelling 1996 entry in one of Vertigo's most imaginative ongoing series.