Trees: Three Fates #4

Jason Howard's cover for Trees: Three Fates #4 is a striking exercise in atmosphere — a hulking silhouette armed with a rifle looms above an East Asian-style building, his glowing red eyes the only feature piercing the darkness, while a dramatic crimson blood-splatter fans out behind him against a stark white sky. The red-drenched palette and stark graphic design give the whole image a tense, almost ceremonial weight that fits the Three Fates subtitle beautifully. Warren Ellis and Jason Howard have been crafting one of Image's most thoughtful science-fiction series, and this fourth issue promises the slow-burn tension that's made the Trees universe so compelling.