Steel #47

Steel's holiday issue arrives with a cover full of warmth — the armored hero wraps a young woman in his red cape against a festive backdrop of holly and a "Merry Xmas" banner, his metallic face breaking into a genuine smile. It's a surprisingly tender image from penciler Denys Cowan and inker Tom Palmer, trading action-packed intensity for something quieter and more human beneath all that steel. Writer Christopher Priest, with art by Cowan and inks by Sal Buscema, brings "The Message" to this February 1998 issue — a fine addition to one of DC's more underappreciated runs of the era.