Batman and Robin #2

Frank Quitely's cover for this September 2009 issue says everything with remarkable economy: a looming Batman towers over Gotham's neon-lit cityscape, his cape spreading like wings across the skyline, while a prone figure in the foreground — seen only from behind — lies at his feet. The composition perfectly captures the tension of Grant Morrison's "Batman Reborn" era, with a Dynamic Duo that carries a very different weight than readers had known before. Morrison and Quitely were already making this series one of DC's most talked-about books of 2009, and issue #2 of "The Circus of Strange" arc keeps that momentum firmly in motion.