Hitman #10

The second chapter of the "Local Heroes" arc finds Tommy Monaghan riding high — literally — as a jubilant crowd of Gotham neighborhood regulars hoists him onto their shoulders in a raucous street celebration. John McCrea's cover captures a wonderfully lively scene, with cheering faces of all ages packed around the sunglasses-wearing hitman while confetti and party favors fill the air above. Garth Ennis and McCrea's collaboration was already carving out a gritty, good-humored corner of the DC Universe by January 1997, and this image of a contract killer as a working-class champion sets the tone perfectly.