Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77

Part of the "Aftershock" crossover event, this August 1998 issue opens with a breathtaking cover by Glen Orbik — a costumed Batman figure leaps across the Gotham City skyline at a dizzying height, arms outstretched, with massive stone gargoyles looming in the foreground against a deep blue nocturnal cityscape. The vertiginous perspective perfectly captures the tension and urgency that comes with picking up the pieces after a city-shaking catastrophe. Alan Grant, Mark Buckingham, and Wayne Faucher bring the story with "Arwin's Theory of Devolution," making this a compelling chapter in one of Batman's most distinctive ongoing series of the era.