Birds of Prey #54

Phil Noto's cover for Birds of Prey #54 (June 2003) makes a striking first impression: Nightwing and Black Canary flank a split orange-and-purple villain whose torso has been grotesquely replaced by a coiling, serpentine mass of tentacles. The three figures are posed in dynamic tension against a cool blue background, with Canary's fishnet-and-leather look and Nightwing's sleek black suit contrasting sharply with the unsettling, inhuman form between them. Gilbert Hernandez scripts "Gotham Magic" with art by Casey Jones, promising a genuinely weird brand of action that this cover delivers on immediately.