Batgirl #55

Part six of eight in the "War Games: Act One" crossover, this October 2004 issue delivers a cover by James Jean that speaks volumes through atmosphere alone — a cloaked, cowled figure looms from above over a fallen man clutching a gun, blood spattering the scene below in stark, unsettling red. The painterly, shadow-drenched composition from Jean gives the issue an almost cinematic gravity that perfectly suits the chaos implied by the "Total War" subtitle. With Dylan Horrocks writing and Sean Phillips on interior art, this chapter of Batgirl lands right at the heart of one of 2004's most ambitious Batman-family storylines.