Batman: Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum #1

Part of DC's 2009 "Battle for the Cowl" event, this one-shot turns the spotlight on Gotham's most infamous institution — and the cover by José Ladrönn sets an appropriately unsettling tone. A weary Arkham staff member in a white lab coat stands before a "Solitary Confinement — Authorized Personnel Only" door, his badge and hunched posture suggesting someone who has seen far too much of this place. Writer David Hine and artist Jeremy Haun promise a story that ventures behind those locked doors with "The Place Where Beauty Lies" — a title that feels as quietly ominous as the cover itself.