Suicide Squad #17

The cover of Suicide Squad #17 tears open with dramatic flair — a blazing, fire-wreathed figure bursts through the page itself while two men grapple in a tense confrontation below, all set against a striking red background that announces "The Jihad is back and the Suicide Squad is going to…" Cover art by Joe Brozowski and Karl Kesel crackles with kinetic energy, perfectly setting the stage for "Battleground Manhattan." With John Ostrander writing and Luke McDonnell on interior art, this 1988 DC series was consistently delivering the kind of morally complex action that set it apart from the superhero crowd.