The Maxx #13

The Maxx looms large on this January 1995 Image cover, his distinctive purple mask rendered in brooding, painterly strokes as flames and smoke roil behind him against a fiery amber sky — Sam Kieth's cover art giving the character a raw, almost mythic presence amid a heap of wreckage and debris. The story inside is titled "Sarah's Grandfather," hinting at the deeply personal, layered storytelling that made this series stand out from the crowd. With Kieth and Bill Messner-Loebs co-writing and a rich color palette from Steve Oliff and the Olyoptics team, this issue is a fine example of what made The Maxx one of the more genuinely distinctive comics of its era.