The Ray #3

This July 1994 issue of The Ray delivers an unsettling image straight from the cover: the Ray himself, clad in his green-and-gold helmet and colorful costume, scrambling desperately out of what appears to be a coffin — mouth wide open, clawing hands reaching toward the viewer — with a sickly green energy radiating behind him. The tagline "Grave Danger!" says it all, and cover pencils by Joe Quesada with inks by Howard Porter give the scene a visceral, claustrophobic urgency that's hard to look away from. With Christopher Priest writing and Howard Porter on interior art, this third issue of the series is a fine snapshot of DC's early-'90s energy at its most inventive.