Blackhawk #9

Martin Pasko and Rick Burchett bring their sharp, pulpy sensibility to this 1989 DC series with a cover that practically leaps off the page — Blackhawk rockets a motorcycle into a dramatic wheelie while bullets streak past him, narrowly avoiding both a pursuing military jeep and a soldier on foot taking aim. Burchett's clean linework makes every rivet and spoke of that chrome bike feel tactile, and the kinetic composition keeps your eye moving from the muzzle flash to the streaking wire cables to Blackhawk's steely, unflinching expression. "The Needle Hand" promises the kind of tightly wound, globe-trotting adventure that made this mature-readers series a standout among DC's 1989 lineup.