Batman: Shadow of the Bat #52

This mid-1996 installment of Batman: Shadow of the Bat arrives with a cover by Carl Critchlow that's all brooding industrial atmosphere — Batman's caped silhouette dominates the foreground while a white-masked, sword-wielding adversary faces him across a circular hatch in a grim, pipe-lined environment, with a heavy chain looming overhead. The composition cleverly uses shadow and geometry to set up what promises to be a tense confrontation. Inside, Alan Grant scripts with art by Dave Taylor and inks by Joe Rubinstein, making this a sharp creative team delivering Gotham's dark drama at its moody best.