No Man's Land tie-in issue! Gotham Central's Detective Renee Montoya finds her brother alive and well in the aftermath of the earthquake, keeping company with the neighborhood Good Samaritan--Two-Face! Plus, a young couple tries to survive in an apartment that was once the Joker's hideout.
An ancient journal reveals to Batman the tale of a mysterious immortal who has clashed with Ra's al Ghul repeatedly through the centuries. Then, at the dawn of his career, before his return to Gotham City, Bruce Wayne learns an important final lesson from a master detective. Last, in a story set in Colonial times, the circumstances surrounding the founding of Gotham City are revealed.
While much of the scholarship on superhero narratives has focused on the heroes themselves, Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls takes into view the depiction of the villains and their lives, arguing that they often function as proxies for larger societal and philosophical themes. Approaching Gotham’s villains from a number of disciplinary backgrounds, the essays in this collection highlight how the villains’ multifaceted backgrounds, experiences, motivations, and behaviors allow for in-depth character analysis across varying levels of social life. Through investigating their cultural and scholarly relevance across the humanities and social sciences, the volume encourages both thoughtful reflection on the relationship between individuals and their social contexts and the use of villains (inside and outside of Gotham) as subjects of pedagogical and scholarly inquiry.
After suffering a cataclysmic earthquake, the U.S. government has deemed Gotham City as uninhabitable and ordered all citizens to leave. It is now months later and those that have refused to vacate “No Man's Land” live amidst a citywide turf war in which the strongest prey on the weak. As gangs terrorize the ravaged populace, the Scarecrow uses a church relief project as a real life lab to test his experiments in fear. But with the return of the vigilante, Batman, and the appearance of an enigmatic new Batgirl, justice returns to Gotham. BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND VOL. 1 is the first chapter in the monumental crossover event that changed Gotham City and the Dark Knight forever. Collects BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND #1, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #83-86, BATMAN #563-566, DETECTIVE COMICS #730-733, AZRAEL: AGENT OF THE BAT #51-55, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #117-118 and BATMAN CHRONICLES #16.
Dick Grayson--alter-ego of the original Robin of Batman comics--has gone through various changes in his 75 years as a superhero but has remained the optimistic, humorous character readers first embraced in 1940. Predating Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, he is one of DC Comics' oldest heroes and retains a large and loyal fanbase. The first scholarly work to focus exclusively on the Boy Wonder, this collection of new essays features critical analysis, as well as interviews with some of the biggest names to study Dick Grayson, including Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson and Marv Wolfman. The contributors discuss his vital place in the Batman saga, his growth and development into an independent hero, Nightwing, and the many storyline connections which put him at the center of the DC Universe. His character is explored in the contexts of feminism, trauma, friendship, and masculinity.
Describes and lists the values of popular collectible comics and graphic novels issued from the 1950s to today, providing tips on buying, collecting, selling, grading, and caring for comics and including a section on related toys and rings.
The Many Lives of the Batman (1991) was a pioneer within cultural and comic book scholarship. This fresh new sequel retains the best of the original chapters but also includes images, new chapters and new contributions from the Batman writers and editors. Spanning 75 years and multiple incarnations, this is the definitive history of Batman.
Batman has been one of the world’s most beloved superheroes since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Clad in his dark cowl and cape, he has captured the imagination of millions with his single-minded mission to create a better world for the people of Gotham City by fighting crime, making use of expert detective skills, high-tech crime-fighting gadgets, and an extensive network of sidekicks and partners. But why has this self-made hero enjoyed such enduring popularity? And why are his choices so often the subject of intense debate among his fans and philosophers alike? Batman and Ethics goes behind the mask to shed new light on the complexities and contradictions of the Dark Knight’s moral code. From the logic behind his aversion to killing to the moral status of vigilantism and his use of torture in pursuit of justice (or perhaps revenge), Batman’s ethical precepts are compelling but often inconsistent and controversial. Philosopher and pop culture expert Mark D. White uses the tools of moral philosophy to track Batman’s most striking ethical dilemmas and decisions across his most prominent storylines from the early 1970s through the launch of the New 52, and suggests how understanding the mercurial moral character of the caped crusader might help us reconcile our own. A thought-provoking and entertaining journey through four decades of Batman’s struggles and triumphs in time for the franchise’s 80th anniversary, Batman and Ethics is a perfect gateway into the complex questions of moral philosophy through a focused character study of this most famous of fictional superheroes.