Vermillion #1

Launching DC's Helix imprint in October 1996, Vermillion #1 opens with a striking cover by Mike Kaluta that immediately signals this series has something bold to offer. A red-haired woman in dark clothing is suspended mid-air, caught between a looming, broad-shouldered figure above her — whose unsettling, mask-like face glows with eerie light — and a circular array of medallions below, each bearing a different ominous symbol or creature, all set against a shadowy urban skyline. Writer Lucius Shepard and artist Al Davison kick off "Starlight Drive, Part One" with a visual promise of science fiction strangeness and genuine tension that fans of ambitious, mature-readers comics will want to explore.