Unknown Soldier #13

Vertigo's Unknown Soldier #13 opens the two-part "The Way Home" with a cover by Dave Johnson that earns every word of that New York Times pull quote — a bandage-faced, bloodied figure holds a gun to his own head while ghostly silhouettes of reaching, falling bodies loom above him, connected by trailing streams of red. It's a haunting image that captures the psychological weight Joshua Dysart's series has built, rendered in Johnson's stark olive-and-crimson palette with an unnerving stillness. Artist Pat Masioni brings the same unflinching quality to the interiors, making this December 2009 issue a compelling entry point into one of Vertigo's most serious explorations of war and identity.