The Shadow: Year One #9

The Shadow crouches in a doorway framed by Chinese calligraphy banners and a paper lantern, twin pistols blazing — one already firing a muzzle flash — while crossed hatchets loom ominously behind him, hinting at the dangers closing in on all sides. Matt Wagner's cover art for this 2014 Dynamite series captures the pulp crimefighter's signature look perfectly: the wide-brimmed hat, sweeping black cloak, and crimson scarf lending him an air of coiled menace. Issue #9 of The Shadow: Year One promises exactly the kind of atmospheric, hard-edged adventure that makes this character so enduringly compelling.