Sandman Mystery Theatre #52

The four-part "Scarlet Ghost" saga reaches its finale here in this July 1997 DC/Vertigo thriller, with the cover's photo-realistic marquee — a vintage movie house billing "The Scarlet Ghost" on what appears to be a Royal typewriter or ticket machine — perfectly capturing the pulp-cinema atmosphere the series revels in. It's a quietly atmospheric image by Gavin Wilson and Richard Bruning that trades superhero flash for shadowy noir mood, entirely fitting for a story pitched as "Pulp Perils on the Big Screen." With Wagner, Seagle, and Davis delivering the concluding act, fans of hardboiled Golden Age mystery will want this one in hand.