The Outsiders #18

From the swirling mists rises a tattooed, pale figure reaching outward with an unsettling intensity, while an inverted demonic presence — wild red tendrils, glowing eyes, and a gaunt yellow face — looms above in a genuinely unnerving composition. This is The Outsiders #18 from DC's July 2009 lineup, the fourth chapter of "The Deep," with a cover by Lee Garbett and Scott that makes excellent use of negative space to let these two striking figures command full attention. Peter J. Tomasi and his creative team were clearly building toward something unsettling, and this cover sets the mood with quiet, creeping dread.