Batman #1

The New 52 era of DC Comics kicks off with a striking image: Batman looms large over a pile of fallen, white-clad figures as the Dark Knight's cape sweeps dramatically across a rain-soaked Gotham backdrop. Greg Capullo's cover work crackles with kinetic energy, framing the Caped Crusader as an unstoppable force standing alone atop a crowd of defeated enemies. Writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo launch their celebrated run with "Knife Trick," and this 2011 first issue promises exactly the kind of bold, confident storytelling that the opening image delivers.