The Punisher #8

Part of Greg Rucka's acclaimed run, this 2012 issue carries the haunting subtitle "The Dead Winter" — and Marco Checchetto's cover delivers exactly that mood. Frank Castle is shown battered and bloodied, gun raised, bracing against a snow-swept urban backdrop with what appears to be the Brooklyn Bridge looming ghostly in the blizzard behind him. It's a quietly intense image — a man who refuses to go down, rendered with gritty precision by Checchetto and brought to life through Matt Hollingsworth's cold, muted palette.