Batman Eternal #43

This installment of DC's weekly New 52 saga brings a striking power dynamic to the fore: a confident, pearl-wearing woman lounges in authority, whip in hand, while a bound and masked figure in purple — clearly at her mercy — kneels before her, and a watchful Batman looms ominously in the shadows behind them both. Money and gold scatter the scene, hinting at the high-stakes criminal intrigue suggested by the story title "Cat's Paw." Ivan Reis and Joe Prado deliver a cover that crackles with tension, and the deep bench of writers — Snyder, Tynion IV, Fawkes, Higgins, and Seeley — guarantees the storytelling inside matches the drama on display.