Legends of the Dark Knight by Alan Davis

Legends of The Dark Knight: Alan Davis, written by Mike W . Barr, drawn by Alan Davis & Paul Neary, Alan Davis & Mark Farmer, DC Comics

This week’s graphic novel pick reprints the brief run from Barr and Davis on DC’s Detective Comics in the 1980s. This hardcover shows what a lightness of touch Barr with the assistance of Davis had with his portrayal of Batman. In their short run, they tackled major Batman adversaries like The Joker, The Scarecrow and The Mad Hatter and they even introduced The Reaper, a twisted crimefighter who predated Batman in Gotham. The pair manage to find the balance between light and dark almost effortlessly and Bruce Wayne/ Batman is a troubled figure but a very human one. It even represents Detective Comics #572, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the title, and has a clever cameo from Sherlock Holmes, and Batman Full Circle, which brought back the Reaper years later in  a oneshot years later. There have been a number of high watermarks for Batman over the years (O’Neil and Adams, Englehart and Rogers) and it could be argued that Barr and Davis should join their ranks. For fans of the Dark Knight Detective who have never read these stories, Legends of The Dark Knight: Alan Davis is a must-buy. It’s also a joy for people who have read them before to revisit their work in a new format too. It is correct that DC has made these stories available to read again in a single volume.

DC Comics

Legends o
f the Dark Knight: Alan Davis HC