Batman Annual #19

Part of DC's 1995 "Year One" annuals initiative, this oversized issue turns the spotlight on one of Batman's most psychologically unsettling rogues — the Scarecrow. Bret Blevins's cover sets the mood perfectly: a scarecrow-like figure draped in a ragged Batman-esque costume and cape stands alone in a moonlit field, scattered leaves swirling around him against a deep purple sky, conveying dread with quiet, eerie confidence. Written by Doug Moench with art by Bret Blevins and inks by Mike Manley, it's a moody origin-era deep dive into the Master of Fear himself.