The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #10

The cover of this October 2011 issue says it all with its tagline "The Scales of Justice!" — a giant Batman holds a balance scale in his teeth, with two colorful villains (one in a striped suit clutching a clock, another in red with wild golden hair) on one side alongside scattered cash, while two frightened civilians hang in the opposite pan. Writer Sholly Fisch and the art team of Rick Burchett and Dan Davis bring a wonderfully animated, all-ages sensibility to this Batman: The Brave and the Bold series, and the cover's clever visual metaphor sets up a story — titled "Help Wanted" — that feels both playful and genuinely suspenseful. A suited figure in the foreground watches the precarious scene unfold, making this a nicely composed snapshot of Batman's world at its most entertainingly off-kilter.