Detective Comics #642

Part two of "The Return of Scarface" arrives in this March 1992 issue of Detective Comics, with a cover by Norm Breyfogle that puts three figures in tense, close-quarters confrontation: a scarred, cigar-chomping gangster on the left, Batman on the right, and looming large between them, the rotund and bespectacled Ventriloquist — his polka-dot bow tie and wide-eyed expression making him look genuinely unnerved. The composition is wonderfully unsettling, with dripping red behind the trio and the story's title promising that Scarface's comeback is very much underway. Alan Grant and Jim Aparo continue their run here, delivering what the cover suggests is a Gotham underworld story with real menace beneath its quirky surface.