Catwoman Annual #3

Part of DC's 1996 "Legends of the Dead Earth" annual event, this oversized issue brings together three of Gotham's most compelling figures in a cover by Rick Burchett and Wade von Grawbadger that crackles with tension. Catwoman dominates the foreground in her purple costume, blazing away with two guns, while a grimacing Joker clutches what appears to be a sheriff's badge — and Batman swoops in from behind, chest-light glowing, cape spread wide. With writer Joan Weis and artist Michal Dutkiewicz steering the story, this annual promises the kind of high-stakes, atmospheric adventure that made DC's "Dead Earth" theme one of 1996's most intriguing crossover concepts.