Nightwing #78

Nightwing #78 delivers one of 2003's most arresting cover images: Dick Grayson's familiar blue-and-black costume now draped over a grinning skull, skeletal hands clutching a pair of crossed escrima sticks in a pose that's equal parts hero and specter. Brian Ewing's stark, graphic cover art transforms Nightwing's silhouette into something genuinely unsettling against a cool grey backdrop. Writer Devin Grayson and artist Rick Leonardi team up for "Supercop," promising the kind of grounded, street-level tension this series does so well.