Batman: Gotham After Midnight #9

The ninth chapter of Steve Niles and Kelley Jones's twelve-part horror noir finds Batman standing among snow-dusted gravestones, cradling an unconscious, bloodied woman beneath a full moon rendered as a grinning skull — a genuinely unsettling image that captures the series' gothic atmosphere at full strength. The cover quote, "There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls," sets a mood that feels less like a superhero story and more like a waking nightmare. Kelley Jones's expressive linework gives every shadow and tombstone a menacing personality, making this 2009 issue a compelling centerpiece of one of DC's most atmospheric Batman titles.