Batman Beyond #12

The cover of Batman Beyond #12 promises "The Madness of Terminal!" and delivers immediately — a massive, grinning blue face dominates the composition while a small but defiant Batman Beyond stands his ground in front of it, surrounded by a gallery of leering, shadowy visages in the background. Ronnie Del Carmen's cover art captures the unsettling, off-kilter energy of a villain clearly slipping into chaos, rendered in the sleek animated style fans of the series will recognize. With Hilary J. Bader writing and Craig Rousseau on interior art, this 2000 installment looks like a genuinely compelling chapter in the futuristic Gotham saga.