Batman: Dark Patterns #12

A striking moment of quiet devastation opens this twelfth chapter of Batman: Dark Patterns — the cover shows a battered, shirtless Bruce Wayne hunched forward, head bowed, clutching what appears to be the tattered remains of his Batman cowl. His body is wrapped in golden bandages or tape, fragments of which drift away like embers, suggesting both physical damage and something deeper coming undone. Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman bring "The Child of Fire" to its third installment with this haunting image, and Tríona Farrell's cool blue-and-gold palette gives the whole scene an aching, bruised quality that lingers. If the previous issues have been building toward a breaking point, this cover suggests it may have arrived.