Astro City: Beautie #1

This 2008 Wildstorm/DC character special spotlights Beautie, Astro City's glamorous android heroine, rendered in stunning painted detail by Alex Ross — she soars in her sparkling pink costume against a cityscape, her white cape billowing, framed brilliantly within what appears to be an oversized toy-box package proclaiming "Beautiful Heroine with Fly-Away Action." It's a wonderfully clever visual concept that says so much about this character before a single interior page is turned. With Kurt Busiek writing and Brent Anderson on art, "Her Dark Plastic Roots" promises the kind of thoughtful, human-scaled storytelling that has always made Astro City special.