The Programme #6

Peter Milligan's cold-war super-soldier series reaches its sixth chapter with C.P. Smith's striking cover — a woman identified as Ursa, head thrown back in anguish or fury, a powerful fist gripping her hair against a warm wash of amber and ochre splatter. Smith's painted linework gives the image a raw, visceral energy that suits a series subtitled, in this very issue, "The President of the United States Is a Dangerous Psychopath." Wildstorm's The Programme continues to deliver smart, unsettling superhero fiction with this February 2008 installment.