Azrael #16

Part 10 of DC's sprawling 1996 "Contagion" crossover lands here in Azrael #16, and Barry Kitson and James Pascoe deliver a cover that pulses with menace — Azrael stands triumphant in his gold-and-red armor, fist raised, looming over two stricken figures: a skull-faced villain in a blue cloak and a grotesque green-costumed combatant, both collapsed against a massive red stylized "A" on an eerie green background. The border of skulls and distorted faces framing the whole image sets an appropriately grim tone for a story deep in the grip of a city-wide plague. With Dennis O'Neil writing and Kitson on interiors as well, this is a sharp, atmospheric chapter in one of the mid-'90s' most ambitious Batman-family events.