Doom Patrol #5

John Byrne's cover for this December 2004 issue splits Robotman right down the middle — half copper-toned, half gleaming blue steel — in a striking visual that directly sets up the "Blue Steele!" cover blurb. Flanking him are a dark-haired woman conjuring an electric skeletal apparition on the left and a hulking, green-eyed mechanical creature on the right, hinting at a cast full of strange, unsettling power. "Hearts of Steel" sounds like exactly the kind of story this Doom Patrol run delivers: human drama wrapped in metal and weirdness, rendered with Byrne's confident line work inked by Doug Hazlewood.