The Walking Dead #131

Subtitled "A Journey Begins," this 2014 installment of Robert Kirkman's long-running series sets a purposeful tone right from Charlie Adlard's cover, which depicts two determined figures — a younger person clutching a crossbow and a bearded man at their back — pushing forward against a stark, warm-lit background, with a weathered, bloodstained envelope prominently thrust toward the viewer. The composition carries real urgency, suggesting that whatever message that sealed letter contains, it's driving these two somewhere neither can turn back from. Inked by Adlard with inking support from Stefano Gaudiano and toned by Cliff Rathburn, it's a quietly tense piece that captures the post-apocalyptic series at its most human.