Martian Manhunter #25

Spinning out of the pages of JLA, this December 2000 installment kicks off "Renegades of Mars" with a cover that immediately sets a dark, unsettling tone — J'onn J'onzz appears in a grotesquely distorted, monstrous form, clutching his chest amid Egyptian hieroglyphic pillars and the Eye of Horus looming in the shadows. Tom Mandrake's artwork leans into deep shadows and jagged detail, making the familiar Manhunter feel genuinely threatening and otherworldly. John Ostrander and Mandrake were one of comics' most reliable creative partnerships in 2000, and this opening chapter promises the kind of moody, mythologically charged storytelling their run was known for.