Back in 2004, Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen did a comic called Superman: Secret Identity, about a fellow named Clark Kent in a world without superheroes where Superman is just a comic book character… and then Clark Kent discovers he can fly.  13 years later, Busiek has returned with a sort of “spiritual companion” in Batman: Creature of the Night.

Joined by artist John Paul Leon, Batman: Creature of the Night tells the story of young Bruce Wainwright, a Batman fan in 1968 Boston who loses his parents to violent crime… and then “a familiar-looking crimefighter begins to appear on the city streets.”

Batman: Creature of the Night is also the return of the “prestige format” mini-series, sometimes called “Dark Knight format.”  We’d been hearing rumors about that at Stately Beat Mansion and sure enough, there it is.  Probably more prestige format in the pipeline, too.  The price point on it is $5.99.

Official PR follows and then some art:

Every Batman fan has dreamed of becoming the Dark Knight—putting on the cowl, firing up the Batmobile and heading out to take on the Joker. However, we’d imagine that very few of them have dreamed about being Bruce Wayne as a child. While having your own Batcave and hanging with the Justice League would be fun, the important tragedy it took for Bruce Wayne to get there is often overlooked.

That’s not the case in this fall’s new Batman miniseries, BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT, in which a young Batman fan faces a childhood that suddenly becomes unbearably similar to his hero’s. Written by Kurt Busiek (ASTRO CITY), drawn by John Paul Leon (MOTHER PANIC) and set outside of regular continuity, Creature of the Night is a four-issue, prestige format limited series set in Boston in 1968. Bruce Wainwright is a comic book-reading kid whose obsession with the Caped Crusader leads him to some very dark places which he must ultimately confront when his parents are murdered after walking in on a robbery. It’s a story about loss and confronting your inner demons in the face of that loss that takes a turn towards the unusual when a familiar-looking crimefighter begins to appear on the city streets.

If this is sounding at all similar to Busiek’s classic Superman tale, SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY, that’s no coincidence. Billed as a spiritual companion to that 2004 limited series, it also offers a real-world analog to a well-known comic book legend. But the similarities stop there and fans can expect plenty of surprises when Batman: Creature of the Night emerges in November.

BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT #1
Written by KURT BUSIEK
Art and cover by JOHN PAUL LEON

Young Bruce Wainwright lost his parents in a violent crime…and in the real world, no superheroes exist to save the day. But as grief and rage builds inside Bruce until he feels he can’t keep it inside anymore, something strange starts taking wing in the Gotham night! Perhaps Bruce’s grief isn’t inside him after all?

Modern masters Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon unite for the spiritual companion to the beloved SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY, putting a new spin you’ve never seen before on the legend of Batman—and the dark emotions that drive him!

On sale NOVEMBER 29 • 48 pg, FC, 1 of 4, $5.99 US • RATED T+

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4 COMMENTS

  2. Odd that the price for “prestige” format hasn’t changed in 13 years. And if you go back to the format launch with DARK KNIGHT, back then the standard DC cover price was 75 cents (and at least 22 pages of story), and prestige cost you 4x that. Now regular comics are at least $3 for 20 pages, prestige is only 2x that. So the format price can be seen to have been cut in half in 30 years (and is cheaper than two regular comics, with more story pages and better production). Or to have increased about in-line with the inflation rate, unlike other DC comics.

    Looking forward to reading the comic in some form, eventually. Leon’s always been an interesting artist, this seems better suited to his style than some other things he’s done recently.

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