Scratch #4

The penultimate chapter of Sam Kieth's five-issue DC series arrives with a cover that pits three very different creatures against one another — a snarling red beast with massive fangs and curved claws, a grim-faced Batman wielding a batarang overhead, and a horned, tusked monster looming from the shadows. Kieth's cover art leans into raw, visceral energy, letting the tagline "The Fang… The Claw… and The Bat!" do the work of framing this uneasy three-way confrontation. With Alex Sinclair's deep blues and reds amplifying the tension, issue #4 of Scratch makes a strong case for why this 2004 miniseries deserves a closer look.