Uncanny X-Men #17

A figure of striking intensity dominates Mike Del Mundo's cover — a woman's face eerily composed at center, framed by what appears to be a massive, glowing sentinel looming behind her, its eyes burning with eerie light while crackling energy surges at her fingertips. Tied into the Avengers vs. X-Men event, this 2012 issue wraps up Kieron Gillen's three-part arc "This Strange, Unpleasant Land" with a sense of mounting, quiet menace. With Daniel Acuña and Mike Del Mundo among the artistic team, the series was in genuinely talented hands throughout this run.