Hourman #22

Tony Harris's cover for this January 2001 issue sets a striking, almost surreal tone: the android Hourman, golden-masked and cloaked in his distinctive red-and-gold costume, faces off against a grey-skinned, mechanical-jawed figure whose head bristles with playing cards — aces, clubs, hearts — scattered across both figures like a shuffled deck mid-fall. Writer Tom Peyer and artist Harris had built one of DC's more quietly inventive series around this time-powered android hero, and "The Chrono-Bums" sounds like exactly the kind of offbeat adventure the title was known for delivering. The circuit-board textures and gear motifs in the background tie the whole composition together, giving it a clockwork-and-chaos energy that suits Hourman perfectly.