Kurt Busiek's Astro City #20

A gleaming, armored figure draped in a flowing purple cape descends through a cascade of water and rising bubbles on Alex Ross's striking cover for this January 2000 installment of Kurt Busiek's celebrated series. The metallic hero's imposing form dominates the composition, rendered with Ross's signature painterly weight and luminous detail. "The Wow Finish" promises the kind of character-driven superhero storytelling that has made Astro City one of the most thoughtful corners of the genre.