Plus, it involves the Bat demon known as Barbatos, who was a key player in runs by both Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder, so anyone obsessed with the origins of various pieces of the recent Batman canon should stop here as well.īefore he became the writer charged with bringing Batman into the New 52 era, creating the Court of Owls and a new origin with Zero Year in the process, Scott Snyder teamed up with artists Jock and Francesco Francavilla for this dark mystery that spans ten issues of Detective Comics.
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It's a wonderful exercise in dark comics craftsmanship, but it's also a glimpse at one of the more vicious versions of The Riddler, something you might be interested in if you're hoping to catch Matt Reeves' The Batman in theaters come 2022. Milligan also weaves in Thomas Jefferson's own interest in the supernatural, and The Riddler's quest to recreate the past and defeat Batman in the process.įirst published in 1990, the story is worth revisiting now thanks in large part to how atmospheric and chilling the world here is, as Batman tries to unravel the mystery behind The Riddler's latest scheme. Written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Kieron Dwyer, Dark Knight, Dark City spans Batman #452-454, and digs deep into a secret occult conspiracy tied to Gotham's early days as a once-promising city. One of my favorite subgenres of Batman stories is "Dark Secrets in Gotham's History," and of all the great installments in that subgenre, this one might be my absolute favorite. By the time the Dark Knight gets to the heart of the case, it's grown into one of the creepiest he's ever tackled, and an essential Batman horror tale. Bolstered by Janson's atmospheric, often flat-out terrifying art, Morrison delivers a compelling supernatural villain while building out the story's central mythology in a way that enhances the scares and also raises the emotional stakes for Batman himself. From there, it then digs deep into who that killer is, why they're doing what they're doing, and how they're tied to Bruce Wayne's own childhood. The story begins by placing Batman at the heart of an apparent conspiracy in which Gotham's mob bosses are being killed off by a mysterious figure. (The story here also hints at the kind of tales Morrison would bring to their lengthy, legendary Batman run more than two decades later.)
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Published the year after Arkham Asylum as the second arc of Legends of the Dark Knight, and drawn by the great Klaus Janson, the story plays to Morrison's strengths as Batman struggles through a psychological descent into darkness. Though Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is the Grant Morrison Batman story that usually gets trotted out when discussing the Dark Knight's scariest adventures, for my money Gothic is actually a stronger dose of spooky Caped Crusader fun. Built on the foundation of Wagner's stylized, adventure pulp art style, Mad Monk features an unforgettable villain, a supernatural mystery, some truly effective horror elements, and a final showdown that's among the most memorable in Batman's history. While they're both worth reading, it's the latter book that is arguably the best vampire-related story Batman's ever been a part of.Īdapted from a story originally printed in Detective Comics #31-32, Batman and the Mad Monk follows a young Caped Crusader as he encounters the first supernatural foe in his crimefighting career, the Mad Monk, a vampire who's scheming to build his empire from a spooky manor house where he lures his prey.
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That effort produced both Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk. In the mid-2000s, writer and artist Matt Wagner ( Mage) embarked on an effort to reimagine a couple of key early Batman stories, adapting them for modern audiences while keeping their classic, pulpy edge. Here are seven of the scariest Batman comics you should check out, from vampires to Gotham City's secret occult history. So if you're looking to set up a Batman horror comics binge, this is a great place to start.
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There are quite a few superheroes who fit right into horror narratives of course, but few fit quite as well as Batman.ĭC Comics' Dark Knight, who based his entire modus operandi on the idea that being a giant bat would frighten the criminals he was hoping to tame, has mined plenty of frightening corners of Gotham for our entertainment. If you're a fan of atmospheric, creepy stories to read late at night with the lights off, comic books are very fertile ground for all manner of horror tales, but while some exist in the pure horror arena, others prefer to mix their scares with some superhero fun. It's Halloween week, and if you're a fan of spooky stories, then that means there's a good chance you're packing as much horror programming as possible onto your screens and your pages.