Batman: Dark Victory #4

The fourth chapter of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's celebrated thirteen-part noir saga carries a single, haunting word at its bottom — "Lost" — and Tim Sale's cover makes that theme unmistakable. Batman looms at the center in near-total darkness, his silhouette dissolving into shadow while two smaller, ghostly figures flank him on either side, the whole image rendered in an austere palette of black and deep grey. It's a quietly arresting composition that captures the brooding weight of Gotham's protector surrounded by uncertainty, and a compelling reminder of why this 2000 series remains such a compelling companion to The Long Halloween.