Batman: Gotham Adventures #55

Two armed men in suits square off against each other at point-blank range, guns raised, while Batman swoops in from above with cape fully spread — a tense three-way standoff that perfectly sells the "Double Payback!" tagline splashed across the cover. The animated-series style art, rendered by cover penciler Bob Smith and inker Terry Beatty, captures that clean, energetic look fans of the era will immediately recognize. With Scott Peterson writing and Rick Burchett on interior art, this December 2002 issue of Batman: Gotham Adventures delivers the kind of street-level Gotham tension the series did so well.