The Shadow #16

Dynamite's The Shadow #16 brings the pulp avenger to a razor's edge, with Jason Shawn Alexander's cover painting a breathtaking bird's-eye view of the Shadow — twin pistols raised, crimson scarf trailing — isolated in a stark spotlight while a ring of armed soldiers closes in from every direction. The composition is genuinely striking: all those rifles leveled inward, the lone figure refusing to yield at the center of an overwhelming net. Writer Chris Roberson and artist Giovanni Timpano continue their 2013 run on one of pulp fiction's most enduring figures, and this cover alone makes a compelling case to pick it up.