The Vigilante #37

This January 1987 issue of DC's street-level series puts the tension front and center, with Mike Grell's cover depicting the masked, helmeted Vigilante in a fierce mid-air struggle on a fire escape — a fired gun flashing between him and a uniformed police officer who raises a desperate hand in defense. The dynamic angles and vivid purple-red backdrop give the scene a real sense of urgency, raising immediate questions about where the line falls between justice and the law. With Paul Kupperberg writing and Tod Smith on interior art, "Pawns" promises the kind of morally complex action that made this series stand out in the mid-'80s DC lineup.