The Shield #8

The patriotically armored Shield is depicted falling — or being dragged — toward a mass of dark, grasping silhouettes that loom across the cover like an overwhelming tide, creating an immediate sense of a hero under serious pressure. Sami Basri's striking cover composition uses stark contrast between the colorful, stars-and-stripes figure and the encroaching black forms to suggest a soldier facing odds that are anything but fair. With Eric Trautmann writing and Cliff Richards on interior art, this June 2010 issue continues "Operation: Gunslinger" with a visual promise of a tough fight ahead.