The Books of Magic #7

Part two of the "Sacrifices" arc arrives in this November 1994 installment of DC/Vertigo's ongoing series by John Ney Rieber and Peter Gross. Charles Vess's cover painting draws the eye through a wall of fire, where a girl with flame for hair advances toward a young boy sprawled on the ground, while a tall, pale figure in white looms behind her amid white doves taking flight. There's a quiet dread to the image — two figures at the mercy of forces far larger than themselves — that makes this one hard to set down.