JSA: Classified #35

This 2008 DC spotlight issue puts Wildcat front and center — literally — as the blue-costumed brawler rips a baseball bat from an attacker's grip while a mob of street toughs surrounds him outside what appears to be a gym, with bodies already down at his feet. The cover by penciller Sean Chen and inker Sandu Florea crackles with kinetic energy, capturing Ted Grant in his element: outnumbered, unfazed, and throwing thugs around like they owe him money. Writer B. Clay Moore and artist Ramón Pérez kick off "Forward Through the Past" here, making this a fine entry point for anyone who appreciates the JSA's grittiest street-level fighter.