Birds of Prey #76

The cover by Jason Pearson sets a striking tone for this January 2005 installment of Gail Simone's Birds of Prey — three fierce women crowd the foreground in deep, moody shadow and color, one of them drawing a crossbow with focused intensity, while a dramatic silhouette strikes a bold pose against a blazing golden sky above them. The story arc kicks off here with "Hero Hunters Part One: Teenage Wasteland," and the tension radiating from this cover — paired with the arc title "A Wing and a Prayer" — promises the team is facing something that pushes them to their limits. With Simone writing alongside artists Joe Prado and Ed Benes, this is a compelling entry point into one of DC's most satisfying team-book runs of the mid-2000s.