Batman: Shadow of the Bat #37

Two massive faces dominate this April 1995 cover — the Joker's wide, gold-tinted laugh filling the left side while Batman's grimacing cowl looms opposite, the pair locked in a tense visual standoff against a deep crimson backdrop scattered with party streamers. Brian Stelfreeze's cover art gives both figures a theatrical, almost mask-like quality that suits the story's subtitle, "The King of Comedy," perfectly. With Alan Grant writing and Barry Kitson on interior art, this opener to the Joker arc promises the Dark Knight going toe-to-toe with Gotham's most unpredictable villain.