Universe X #8

A luminous black panther dominates the foreground of this arresting Alex Ross cover, its gold-collared form radiating a blinding white light from its paws. Behind it stands a white-haired woman in regal purple and gold attire, arms crossed with quiet authority, while a grey-suited elder figure and a stunning procession of animals — elephants, lions, zebras, and great apes — fill the golden background with an almost mythic weight. This 2001 Marvel series, written by Ross and Jim Krueger with interior art by Dougie Braithwaite and Bill Reinhold, continues to demonstrate why Universe X earned its reputation as one of the more ambitious alternate-future epics of its era.