Birds of Prey #82

Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey was in full swing by 2005, and this "Shorthanded" chapter delivers a cover as clever as it is stylish — a mysterious hand fans out a poker hand of playing cards, each one depicting a member of the team: Black Canary, a blonde operative with a gun, a red-haired figure, and Batman tucked into the lower card amid scattered casino chips and gleaming shurikens. Adriana Melo's pencils and Will Conrad's inks give the whole composition a cool, high-stakes elegance that feels right at home in the series' street-level world of espionage and teamwork.