Checkmate #14

This April 1989 "Spotlight on Blackthorn" issue puts DC's sharp-edged agent front and center — literally — as she crouches armed and alert amid crumbling brick rubble, a drawn dagger and a pistol at the ready, with a startled cat and a torn "Sold Out" poster flanking her in the harsh yellow spotlight. Art Thibert's cover work gives Blackthorn a coiled, street-level intensity that perfectly suits a story titled "Neighborhood Watch." With Paul Kupperberg writing and Eduardo Barreto on interior art, this is a fine showcase for one of Checkmate's most compelling operatives.