Catwoman #14

Part of DC's sprawling 2013 "Death of the Family" crossover, this issue of Catwoman drops Selina Kyle into the Joker's orbit — and the cover by Trevor McCarthy makes that collision feel genuinely unsettling. A terrified Catwoman screams as she's engulfed by a churning sea of grinning, disembodied mouths and a green-gloved hand claws down from above, the story's title "Drowning in Laughter" leaving little doubt about whose influence surrounds her. With Ann Nocenti writing and the art team of Rafa Sandoval and Jordi Tarragona on interiors, it's a tense chapter that pushes Gotham's most agile thief well outside her comfort zone.