Superman #163

With Metropolis submerged in floodwaters and the Daily Planet globe barely above the surface, Superman strains with one fist to keep the landmark aloft while squaring off against a menacing green sea creature clawing at the tower below — it's a striking image of the Man of Steel pushed to his limits. Ed McGuinness and Cam Smith deliver a cover that crackles with energy, framing the city's crisis on a grand, almost vertiginous scale. Jeph Loeb's "Where Monsters Lurk!" promises the kind of high-stakes Superman storytelling that made December 2000 a great month to grab a DC comic off the rack.