Flash #44

The Scarlet Speedster charges straight at the viewer on this striking 1990 cover by Greg LaRocque and José Marzán Jr., a massive crowd surging behind him in panic while a fallen figure lies at his feet — all beneath the urgent tagline "…Your LIFE might be gaining on you!" There's real kinetic energy in the composition, with Flash's determined expression and the chaos of scrambling onlookers selling the tension of whatever's at stake in "Balance Sheet." William Messner-Loebs's run on the title was delivering some of the most grounded, human Flash stories of the era, and this issue looks like no exception.