What makes the best comic book covers? It’s a great topic for debate. For us as individuals there is no wrong answer, of course. It’s purely subjective. But with a little thought it is frequently possible to explain what it is about a particular image that grabs you. The best ones are the ones that make you stop and check out something you weren’t previously going to purchase – and in some cases, you even end up picking up a title you’ve never even heard of before.

It seemed like Comico was on a roll. They’d scored hits with The Elementals, Grendel, the color version of Fish Police, and so many other titles. And then came Maze Agency #1 from writer Mike W. Barr and an artist I’d never heard of before, Adam Hughes.

Before Maze arrived on the scene, Barr had already written the limited series Camelot 3000, and launched Batman and the Outsiders, among many other projects. When the December 1988 cover-dated issue arrived, though, Hughes wasn’t a household name.

That of course changed in short order. And I’ve always believed that while Maze Agency wasn’t the most high profile gig ever, it did start building Hughes a fan base right away.

So, that’s the back story. What’s to grab a reader about this cover?

When you compare the first two crime comic covers I’ve written about, Eclipse Magazine #6 and Scene of the Crime #1, you’ll see that even though they are very different types of compositions, they share an instantly recognizable noir sensibility.

That’s not the case with Maze Agency #1. Sure, Jennifer Mays is holding a gun, and there are mystery-related icons across the lower portion of the cover, but it doesn’t evoke the same sort of compelling, noir atmosphere.

Instead, it captures the feeling of Moonlighting or Remington Steele, both hit programs back when, playing on a very different but no less intriguing take on the crime theme.

The line work was beautiful. It wasn’t Adam Hughes as we recognize his work today, but it was distinctive and it was also different than just about anything else on the stands at the time. And that’s what caught my attention and held it.

In other words, it followed my rule about covers: The best ones are the ones that make you stop and check out something you weren’t previously going to purchase – and in some cases, you even end up picking up a title you’ve never even heard of before.

Maze Agency lasted seven issues at Comico before they substantially cut back their line, then quickly landed for a healthy run at Innovation. Barr also briefly revived the series with three issues in 1997, and then came back for a mini-series at IDW Publishing.

Later Mike W. Barr wrote the “Batman: Year Two” story arc in Detective Comics, “The Mirror Universe Saga” in DC’s Star Trek comics, the graphic novel Batman: Son of the Demon, and created Mantra in Malibu’s Ultraverse line, and many other stories since Maze Agency #1.

Adam Hughes has gone on to become Adam Hughes.