The Outsiders #24

Part of DC's "Blackest Night" crossover event, this January 2010 installment of The Outsiders arrives with a genuinely unsettling cover by Tom Mandrake — a massive, grinning dark entity with glowing white eyes looms over the entire composition, its clawed hands clutching a gold-and-red-costumed hero who struggles helplessly in its grasp. The contrast between that wide, toothy snarl and the hero's vulnerable position makes the threat feel immediate and visceral. Writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Fernando Pasarin bring "Matter of Trust" to life, and if Mandrake's cover is any indication, the Outsiders are facing something far beyond their usual odds.