Superman: The Man of Steel #124

Part two of "Gangs of Metropolis" arrives in this May 2002 issue, and John Cassaday's cover makes an immediate impression — a cold-eyed, dark-haired figure stares straight out at the reader with unsettling intensity, while a shadowy silhouette looms directly behind her head like a threat about to land. The stark, close-cropped composition and muted purple palette give the whole thing a genuinely menacing mood that fits the "Face of Death!" tag perfectly. With Mark Schultz writing and Josh Hood on interior art, this is Superman's street-level side at its most atmospheric.