The Books of Magic #40

Issue #40 of DC/Vertigo's ongoing magical series brings writer John Ney Rieber and artist Peter Gross together for "The Motherless," a title that hints at something quietly unsettling beneath the surface. Michael Wm. Kaluta's cover art places young Tim Hunter — backpack slung over one shoulder, clutching a small object — amid a crowd of curious, watchful children gathered around a weathered red booth emblazoned with the word "LIBERTY," while strange goblin-like figures lurk in the shadows above. There's a gentle unease to the scene, a boy surrounded by faces yet somehow apart from them, that makes this 1997 installment feel like it's building toward something genuinely affecting.