Suicide Squad #5

The tagline "Guess Who's Back" says it all — Suicide Squad #5 (2002) arrives with a darkly comic edge, as a masked, armored figure looms menacingly over a nervous blond man in glasses, growling "Make a wish" while thrusting a birthday cake topped with lit candles into his face. Paco Medina and Joe Sanchez pack the cover with terrific visual tension, balancing genuine threat with absurdist humor that perfectly suits the story title, "The Jerk." Keith Giffen's run on this DC series already has a distinct personality, and this issue looks like a thoroughly entertaining entry.