The Dreaming #56

From Vertigo's moody Sandman-adjacent series comes this 2001 installment with a cover by Dave McKean that immediately arrests the eye: a melancholy, doll-like figure in formal black attire tears open his chest to reveal a tangle of organic machinery within, while a black cat with glowing green eyes perches on his shoulder against a swirling, amber-toned background. The story is titled "The First Adventure of Miss Catterina Poe," and the Poe connection feels palpable in every shadow McKean conjures here. Writer Caitlín R. Kiernan and artist Steve Leialoha bring their own distinctive sensibilities to this Vertigo gem, promising the kind of darkly literary atmosphere the series does so well.