The Monarchy #9

A deep crimson cover sets a quietly menacing tone for issue #9 of WildStorm's The Monarchy, with a suited, bald figure rendered in stark silhouette pressing a finger to his lips — a gesture that feels more like a warning than a secret. Scattered around him are a revolver, an LAPD police badge, pill capsules, and a bloodstain, painting a scene of urban tension and moral ambiguity. With writer Doselle Young and cover artist John McCrea guiding "Making the Metropolitan Part Four: God Save the Queen," this 2002 chapter promises the kind of street-level intrigue the series does so well.