Batman #590

In "Close Before Striking: Act Three," Batman confronts a threat that blurs the line between vigilante justice and cold-blooded violence, testing his resolve in a story that finds him at a critical crossroads. With no letterer credited beyond "typeset," and Scott McDaniel handling both pencils and inks on the cover, this 2001 issue delivers a tense, grounded chapter in the Dark Knight’s ongoing war—packed with in-house promotions that anchor it in its era, from DC Direct collectibles to a PSA about tobacco, all set against the grim backdrop of Gotham’s shadows.