The Unwritten #53

Part four of the "Unwritten Fables" crossover arrives in this November 2013 Vertigo issue, and the cover by Yuko Shimizu is a genuinely striking piece of work — two figures rendered in stark black and white navigate a lush, candy-colored dreamscape of towering candy canes, lollipops, and scattered sweets, the contrast between their monochrome forms and the sugary surroundings giving the whole image an unsettling fairytale quality. The candy-stripe border framing the cover ties the visual together with a knowing wink at storybook aesthetics. With Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Mark Buckingham among the creators, this collaboration between The Unwritten and Fables continues to feel like one of Vertigo's most imaginative team-ups of 2013.