Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #172

Batman crouches in a gritty, graffiti-covered urban nightscape on this 2003 installment of Legends of the Dark Knight, the title "Rough Justice" scrawled boldly across a glowing amber circle behind him while the Gotham cityscape looms in the background. A small inset panel in the corner — rendered in an energetic, scratchy style by cover artist Chris Brunner — hints at something fierce lurking within the story. With John Wagner writing and Brunner handling both pencils and inks throughout, "Testament: City of Fools" kicks off a five-part arc that promises a street-level, uncompromising take on the Dark Knight.