JSA Strange Adventures #5

The penultimate chapter of JSA Strange Adventures arrives in February 2005, and John Watson's painted cover sets a genuinely gripping tone — Hawkman spreads his great wings at center while Doctor Fate and a masked figure press forward against a looming mass of menacing, shadowy enemies crowding the background. There's a real sense of the JSA standing their ground against overwhelming odds, rendered with a moody, painterly weight that suits the "Strange Adventures" spirit perfectly. With Kevin Anderson writing, Barry Kitson on interior art, and Gary Erskine inking, this is a series firing on all cylinders heading into its finale.