Starman #66

The fifth chapter of the "Grand Guignol" arc arrives in Starman #66, and Andrew Robinson's painted cover perfectly captures the operatic tension of the story's subtitle — "A Villain's Tale." Swirling in dark, theatrical energy, the image presents a menacing top-hatted figure in black commanding the foreground, while ghostly oversized faces loom through a wash of vivid greens and golds, and two additional figures — one white-haired and seemingly overwhelmed, another crouching in the upper corner — complete the crowded, ominous composition. With James Robinson writing and Peter Snejbjerg on interior art, this 2000 DC series was doing some of the most thoughtful superhero storytelling of its era, and this issue promises the kind of villain-centered drama the title does so well.