As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he’s sworn to protect.Batman has heard tales of Gotham City’s Court of Owls: that the members of this powerful cabal are the true rulers of Gotham. The Dark Knight dismissed the stories as rumors and old wives’ tales. Gotham was his city. Until now.A brutal assassin is sinking his razor-sharp talons into the city’s best and brightest, as well as its most dangerous and deadly. If the dark legends are true, his masters are more powerful predators than the Batman could ever imagine.Collects issues #1-7 of Batman.

    Looking to prove that any man can be pushed past his breaking point and go mad, the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. After shooting and permanently paralyzing his daughter Barbara (a.k.a. Batgirl), the Joker kidnaps the commissioner and attacks his mind in hopes of breaking the man. But refusing to give up, Gordon maintains his sanity with the help of Batman in an effort to beset the madman.

    verso..Billionaire eco-terrorist's Ra's al Ghul is on a mad quest to remake the world in his own image. With the juggernaut clone of Superman known as Bizarro and a deadly rogue Amazon by his side, this troika of terror casts an ominous shadow over the very future of mankind!Witness the birth of a legendary alliance, as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman join forces to defend Earth against an apocalyptic fate!

    Williams III (Batwoman, Promethea), whose lush, widescreen images provide an epic scope to The Sandman’s origin story. From the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured, The Sandman: Overture will feature cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters such as The Corinthian, Merv Pumpkinhead and, of course, the Dream King’s siblings: Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny.Collects: The Sandman: Overture 1-6

    THE MAN OF STEEL AGAINST THE DARK KNIGHT! Superman and Batman are usually allies, but when they do have to go toe-to-toe, it’s the ultimate battle of brains versus brawn! Can an ordinary man take down an opponent with the power of a god? Can even superpowers prevail against a tactical genius who is never less than ten steps ahead? From all-star comic talents Frank Miller, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Jeph Loeb, Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and more, these stories tackle the oldest fan debate in comics: Who would win—Superman or Batman?Collects BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS #4, BATMAN #612, BATMAN #35-36, SUPERMAN/BATMAN #32 and #78, and JUSTICE LEAGUE #2.

    Written by renowned comic book writer Louise Simonson, the book examines the evolution of the comic book women of DC Comics: the 1942 introduction of the most famous DC heroine, Wonder Woman, and her various incarnations up to the present; the creation of comic book spin-offs based on characters such as Lois Lane; and the recent wealth of fierce, female character-driven comics such as Supergirl, Birds of Prey, Batgirl, and Catwoman, featuring women who have no trouble being both sexy and strong-willed. Famous featured DC Comics artists include Jim Lee, Alex Ross, Adam Hughes, J. Scott Campbell, Michael Turner, Tim Sale, and Jill Thompson. DC Comics Covergirls is a smart and in-depth look at the female comic book characters we've grown up with all these years, and is sure to appeal to new comic book fans and diehard collectors alike.

    Fascinating and often bizarre true stories behind more than 130 urban legends about comic book culture.Was Superman a Spy? demystifies all of the interesting stories, unbelievable anecdotes, wacky rumors, and persistent myths that have piled up like priceless back issues in the seventy-plus years of the comic book industry, including:- Elvis Presley's trademark hairstyle was based on a comic book character (True)- Stan Lee featured a gay character in one of Marvel's 1960s war comics (False)- Wolverine of the X-Men was originally meant to be an actual wolverine! (True)- What would have been DC's first black superhero was changed at the last moment to a white hero (True)- A Dutch inventor was blocked from getting a patent on a process because it had been used previously in a Donald Duck comic book (True)With many more legends resolved, Was Superman a Spy? is a must-have for the legions of comic book fans and all seekers of "truth, justice, and the American way."

    Against an army of Dark Knights, can members of the Justice League, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad come together to form a resistance to stop them?The Justice League has scattered around the world to find the only artifacts that can fight back against the invasion of the Dark Multiverse. The League thinks they know how to take back their world, but they are not prepared for who is standing in their way: the Seven Dark Knights of the Dark Multiverse. All the brilliance of Batman, but combinedwith the powers of the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and more... and none of the morals.The shocking events of METAL have transformed Gotham City into a mosaic of fantastical realms full of monsters, magic and doom An SOS from Dick Grayson sends Robin back to Gotham to find a number of hometown heroes (and anti-heroes) including Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Black Canary and Green Arrow all trapped in a labyrinth of madness and death! Meanwhile, the Justice League are trapped in pocket worlds with their evil Batmen counterparts! Will the heroes be able to escape in time to fight against the villainous mastermind Barbatos?Filling in the gaps between issues of DARK NIGHTS: METAL, this tie-in graphic novel is a crucial companion story to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's masterpiece! Written and illustrated by some of the top talents in the industry, including Jeff Lemire, Joshua Williamson, Bryan Hitch, Liam Sharp, Howard Porter, Robert Venditti and more, this book collects "Gotham Resistance" (Teen Titans #12, Nightwing #29, Suicide Squad #26, Green Arrow #32) and "Bats Out Of Hell" (The Flash #33, Justice League #32-33, Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps #32), plus Batman Lost #1 and Hawkman Found #1.

    Known for his moody, shadowy illustrations, Colan was a natural fit as artist on Batman when he came to DC in the 1980s. His run of stories in the pages of both BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS included appearances by some of Batman’s greatest foes, including Man-Bat, The Monk, Rupert Thorne and more.

    Now, Dick Grayson finds himself back in Gotham City fighting to reclaim the life that was taken from him. But when a new evil threatens those closest to Dick, as Nightwing he must once again choose whether or not to tear himself away from his home in order to combat this dark force.Everything Dick thought he knew about being Nightwing will be brought to bear, and his relationship to his former mentor Batman will be put to the test in Nightwing: Volume 1, Better Than Batman! written by Tim Seeley (Grayson) with art by Yanick Paquette (Swamp Thing, Batman/Superman) and rising star Javier Fernández (Red Hood/Arsenal).Collecting: Nightwing 1-4, 7-8, Rebirth

    Pushed to the limits, he comes face-to-face against the monstrosity known as Bane, who delivers a crippling blow destined to change the Caped Crusader forever!This volume collects Batman: Vengeance of Bane Special #1, Batman #491-500, Detective Comics #659-666, Showcase '93 #7-8 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-18.

    The Court of Owls have shown their hand, and it's up to the collective effort of these heroes, some more unlikely than others, in this sprawling tale of corruption and violence.This epic springs from the pen of Scott Snyder, New York Times bestselling author of Batman, Volume 1: Court of Owls, Batman: The Black Mirror, & American Vampire, as well as creators Judd Winick, David Finch, Peter J. Tomasi, Pat Gleason, Tony Daniel, Scott Lobdell, Duane Swierczynski, JH Williams III, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray!Collecting: Batman Annual 1, Detective Comics 9, Batman: The Dark Knight 9, Batwing 9, Batman and Robin 9, Red Hood and the Outlaws 9, Birds of Prey 9, Batgirl 9, & All-Star Western 9

    . . and the mythology behind the man.“Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible. . . . I shall become a bat!” So declared millionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, orphaned as a boy by a murderous thug and driven as a man to battle the scourge of crime by becoming Batman. Batman swooped into popular culture in 1939–and for nearly seventy years has thrilled audiences in countless comics, live-action and animated television programs, and seven feature films. Prowling the darkened rooftops of Gotham City, roaring through the teeming streets in the sleek, high-powered Batmobile, and leaping into action when the iconic Bat-Signal pierces the night sky, the Caped Crusader is a larger-than-life legend. And now, for the first time in more than thirty years, everything there is to know about Batman–from the beginning to the present, and from A to Z–is collected in one comprehensive new sourcebook. More than 500 pages of entries and illustrations include:• fascinating details and the complete background on Batman’s origins • biographies of every major character in the Batman universe–including his closest allies, from Robin the Boy Wonder and faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth to Commissioner Gordon; and his countless enemies, from the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler to Scarecrow, Two-Face, Ra’s al Ghul and Poison Ivy• classic black-and-white comic book artwork throughout• two sixteen-page full-color artwork insertsEven an all-access pass to the Batcave couldn’t rival former DC Comics editor and Batman scholar extraordinaire Robert Greenberger’s exhaustive ultimate archive. The Essential Batman Encyclopedia is a must for every Batman fan’s bookshelf.BATMAN, the DC Logo, and all related names, characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2008. All rights reserved.

    From the top-rated show on Warner Bros.' Cartoon Network, the newest additions to DC Comics' roster of animated heroes make their debut in two new digest-sized paperbacks Capturing all of the action and fun of the Cartoon Network series, these volumes showcase a multitude of adventures for Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg and Starfire as they face some of their greatest foes.

    Worlds died. And the DC Universe was never the same.In 1985, DC Comics dramatically altered comics' original universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12-issue series that rocked the comics community, tragically dooming some of DC's most beloved characters and drastically altering others. An unforgettable and defining event in comics history, Crisis was arguably the first companywide crossover to make good on its promise of lasting change.Written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, with inks by Dick Giordano, Jerry Ordway, and Mike DeCarlo, Crisis on Infinite Earths finds the alternate worlds that once were a hallmark of the DC Universe under siege by a mysterious force powerful enough to wipe out the lives of billions.Painstakingly restored and meticulously recolored, Crisis on Infinite Earths is at last available as a handsome and affordable softcover collection.