The Nine Rings of Wu-Tang #2

The Nine Rings of Wu-Tang #2 pulls no punches with a cover that drops you straight into the action — a bald warrior with red facial markings strains against the crushing jaws and massive claws of a snarling, green-eyed beast bearing down on him with ferocious intensity. Clayton Henry's pencils and Crime Lab Inkwork's Allan Martinez's inks bring a kinetic, manga-inflected energy to this 1999 Image series that merges martial arts mythology with hip-hop culture. If this second issue's cover is any indication, writer Aaron Bullock and Brian Haberlin's world is one where the stakes are very, very real.