Batman #444

Batman crouches atop a gothic stone gargoyle against Gotham's cool blue skyline, his cape billowing dramatically behind him as he surveys the city below — and carved into the very architecture beneath him is a skull-crowned relief figure that seems to hint at the mysterious Crimesmith he's hunting. Michael Bair's cover art gives this February 1990 issue a brooding, atmospheric tension that perfectly suits the story's title, "Crimesmith and Punishment." With Marv Wolfman writing and Jim Aparo on interior art, this is a solid chapter in Batman's ongoing mission to keep Gotham's shadows in check.