Batman and Robin #21

A towering, masked Batgirl dominates this striking New 52 cover, holding aloft a set of golden scales — with a tiny Batman teetering on one pan and a glowing figure on the other, the tagline "In the Balance… Between Life and Death!" making the stakes unmistakably clear. Patrick Gleason's pencils and Mick Gray's inks deliver a haunting, larger-than-life image that gives the issue an almost mythic weight. Peter J. Tomasi and Cliff Richards bring "The Bargain" to life inside, and this August 2013 installment of Batman and Robin looks like it has something genuinely compelling to say about grief, partnership, and what we're willing to risk for the people we've lost.