Hitman #16

Part two of the "Ace of Killers" arc finds Hitman's gritty Gotham in fine form, with John McCrea's cover art delivering a striking confrontation between a whip-wielding Catwoman — poised confidently in her purple costume atop a rooftop, cats lurking in the shadows behind her — and a battered, grimacing Tommy Monaghan looming large in the foreground. Garth Ennis and McCrea were crafting some of DC's most compellingly rough-edged storytelling in 1997, and this cover makes a strong case that the "Ace of Killers" storyline is no exception. If you've been following this series, the tension crackling between these two figures is more than enough reason to pick this one up.