Robin #173

Robin stares out from this June 2008 issue with fierce, white-eyed intensity, flanked by a grinning skull-faced figure in a purple hood and a shadowy caped presence lurking at his shoulder — a trio that makes the stakes feel unmistakably high. The bold cover tagline, "Spoiler: Wanted Dead or Alive!", sets up a story by writer Chuck Dixon and interior art by Chris Batista and Cam Smith that promises serious tension for Tim Drake. Freddie E. Williams II's sharp cover pencils and inks give the whole image a moody, charged energy that's hard to resist.