Batman: Death & the Maidens #[nn]

Greg Rucka and Klaus Janson bring a brooding intensity to this 2004 DC trade paperback, collecting the "Death and the Maidens" storyline. Janson's cover composition is striking — a determined Batman lunges forward in full combat, while looming above him a shirtless, chain-bound figure surveys the scene with cold-eyed menace, and shadowy bat-winged forms press in from the edges. It's a cover that makes the title's grim promise feel utterly earned.