The Ray #6

The Ray looms large and menacing on this November 1994 cover, his black-and-yellow costume cutting a dramatic silhouette as glowing energy crackles at his chest and a massive explosion erupts behind him — the tagline "Blasts Back!" leaving little doubt he's done playing defense. Howard Porter's bold, high-contrast linework gives the figure a kinetic intensity, with an outstretched clawed hand surging toward the viewer in a way that practically leaps off the page. Writer Christopher Priest and the creative team were clearly hitting their stride by issue six of this DC series, and the cover promises a story — titled "Mercy" — with an intriguing tension between that explosive visual and its quietly loaded title.