The Goon #21

Eric Powell's painted cover for The Goon #21 has the quiet, unsettling atmosphere of a Dutch master gone wrong — a robed, white-bearded old man sits at a rough-hewn table, calmly raising a cup, while a small winged imp-like creature perches on a pink, gape-mouthed jug beside him. The warm ochres and deep reds give the whole scene an almost classical dignity that makes the grotesque little demon feel all the more wonderfully out of place. Dark Horse published this 2008 issue as part of Powell's singular blend of pulp horror and dark comedy that makes The Goon unlike anything else on the shelf.