Starman #24

The cover of this July 1990 DC issue tells a tense, layered story all on its own: Starman in his bold yellow-and-purple costume trades blows with a grizzled figure in a hat and trench coat amid bursts of energy, while a brooding long-haired man dominates the foreground with an unsettling, watchful intensity. Tom Lyle's cover work — both pencils and inks — gives the composition real punch, balancing superhero action with a noir-tinged unease that fits the "Shattered Lives" story title perfectly. With Roger Stern writing and Scott Hanna inking the interior, this mid-run issue shows the series firing on all cylinders.