Batman and Robin #11

Part of DC's New 52 initiative, Batman and Robin #11 arrives in September 2012 with a cover by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray that commands immediate attention — a towering, flame-wreathed Batman figure blazes in vivid reds and golds, his bat-symbol burning like a furnace, while a sea of desaturated, bloodied faces crowds the background. The contrast between that eruption of color and the gray, suffering mass behind him makes the image genuinely unsettling in the best way. Peter J. Tomasi and Gleason's New 52 run continues with "Terminus Branded," and this cover alone signals that the stakes are running dangerously high.