Hitman #47

Garth Ennis and John McCrea's Hitman kicks off "The Old Dog" — a three-part arc — with a cover that puts a hulking, cigar-chomping figure front and center, shotgun shells scattered on the bar before him and a bandolier slung across his chest, clearly a man who means business. McCrea's linework, inked by his own hand, fills the background with a cluttered bar's shelves of bottles and memorabilia, giving the scene a lived-in, gritty atmosphere perfectly suited to Ennis's Gotham underworld. If this cover is any indication, part one promises the kind of darkly entertaining crime storytelling that made this series a standout of DC's 2000 lineup.