The Deviant #2

The second issue of James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson's psychological thriller from Image delivers one of 2023's most quietly unsettling cover images: a person decorating a glowing Christmas tree, completely unaware that a masked, axe-wielding figure lurks just outside the snowy window behind them. Hixson's artwork wrings maximum dread from the contrast between warm holiday light and cold, dark threat — the star topper almost painfully cheerful against the sinister silhouette. If this series has your attention, this cover alone makes a compelling case to keep reading.