Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures #1

This 2007 Marvel one-shot brings a gritty, street-level intensity to the Thunderbolts corner of the Marvel Universe, with writer Paul Jenkins and artist Steve Lieber delivering a self-contained story colored by June Chung. Marko Djurdjević's cover sets a moody, atmospheric tone — a blue-armored figure crouches in shadow on a graffiti-tagged street, pistol raised, while a warm-toned vision behind him reveals a cluster of figures including a blonde woman and several masked or costumed characters looming like ghosts against a crumbling wall. It's a single issue that feels like it carries the weight of something much larger.