Legends of the Dark Knight #9

Part four of five in Grant Morrison and Klaus Janson's "Gothic" arc finds Batman thrust into genuinely unsettling territory, and this cover captures that atmosphere beautifully. Janson's artwork shows the Dark Knight thrusting a blazing torch aloft while a crowd of ghostly, shrouded figures looms in the shadowy blue darkness all around him — an image that feels as much horror as superhero. It's a striking, moody piece from 1990 that makes "The Hangman's Tale" impossible to pass up.