The Spectre #49

The penultimate issue of this Ostrander and Mandrake run delivers a cover by Glen Orbik that is genuinely unsettling: a massive, shrieking Spectre looms over a desperate figure clutching a knife, while a wall of tormented faces presses in from the darkness behind them. The mood is suffocating and painterly, all deep shadow and smoldering amber light, perfectly suited to a story titled "In Dark Defeat." Fans of DC's darker corners will find this January 1997 issue a compelling snapshot of the series at its most atmospheric.