The Question #19

The cover of this August 1988 issue pulls no punches: a wide-eyed woman stares in terror as a gun is jammed directly at her face by a scarred, grimacing man — an image of raw, close-quarters menace rendered with striking energy by Denys Cowan and inked by Bill Sienkiewicz. That pairing brings a scratchy, kinetic intensity to every line, perfectly suited to the street-level tension this series is known for. With O'Neil, Cowan, and Magyar delivering "The Plastic Dilemma," this mature-readers title continues to prove that superhero comics in 1988 could be genuinely unsettling and dramatically grounded.