Checkmate #3

The cover by Rob Liefeld and Al Vey crackles with kinetic energy, showing a black-and-gold armored agent swinging on a cable high above a cityscape while firing a weapon at two dark-suited figures caught in a burst of flame on a nearby ledge. It's a sharp, propulsive image that captures Checkmate's blend of covert-ops tension and superhero action perfectly. With Kupperberg, Erwin, and Vey handling the interior, this June 1988 entry in DC's espionage series looks like a genuinely thrilling read.