The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #4

Part of DC's Black Label Sandman Universe line, this fourth issue of Dead Boy Detectives arrives with a cover by Nimit Malavia that immediately sets an unsettling tone — two young ghost detectives stare upward in wide-eyed alarm as a dark, red-haired supernatural figure looms above them, its shadowy tendrils spilling downward in deeply atmospheric fashion. The tension between the boys' vulnerability and the lurking horror above them captures exactly the blend of eerie mystery and emotional stakes that makes this series so compelling. With Pornsak Pichetshote writing and Javier Rodríguez on art, this is one of 2023's most visually inventive corners of the DC universe.