Unknown Soldier #23

Dave Johnson's stark cover for this 2010 Vertigo issue says everything with devastating economy: two hands clasped together — one gripping a knife slick with dripping blood, the other pressing against a floral-patterned fabric — composing a single image of tenderness and violence wound inseparably together. "Beautiful World, Chapter Two" is exactly the kind of title that earns its irony, and this Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli series has always understood that contradiction. If you've been following Unknown Soldier, issue #23 looks like a deeply compelling chapter in that ongoing tension.