The ongoing anthology series Batman: The Brave and the Bold has been spotlighting off-beat takes on The Dark Knight and his mythos with new entries into the Batman: Black & White canon. April’s issue of the series will bring the artist of another iconic black-and-white comic to Gotham, as The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard will team with writer Herik Hanna for an eight-page story featuring a reformed small-time criminal’s run-in with Batman.
Here’s how DC describes the story:
Adlard and Hanna bring their trademark tense storytelling style to “Henchman,” an 8-page black-and-white story exploring what it means for Batman to confront Barney Peterson, an ex-Gotham City goon-for-hire who’s lost everything due to his life of crime. Does the Dark Knight believe that redemption is possible, or does he stand by the “once a criminal, always a criminal” philosophy? Adlard also provides the variant cover for this issue, depicting Peterson’s haunting confrontation with the Dark Knight.
Along with the Batman: Black & White entry, Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12 will also include the conclusion of a Batman/Maps Mizoguchi team-up story by Gotham Acadamy co-creator Karl Kerschl; an Artemis story by Delilah S. Dawson and Serg Acuña; and a Lois Lane story by Torunn Grønbekk and Fernando Pasarin; all under a main cover by Batman and Robin artist Simone Di Meo.
The Brave and the Bold has featured an all-star lineup of creative talent during its first year, including Tom King, Christopher Cantwell, Javier Rodriguez, Ed Brisson, Mitch Gerads, and many others, along with new Batman: Black & White stories from creators like Dan Mora, Joëlle Jones, Meghan Fitzmartin, Belén Ortega, Jorge Fornés, and more.
For Adlard, “Henchman” marks his first sequential work on Batman in nearly 20 years, and only the second time he’s drawn a story featuring the character. Adlard illustrated a Mister Freeze-centric story in 2004’s Batman: Gotham Knights #59, another series that included Batman: Black & White stories regularly for its first 49 issues.
Check out more pages of Adlard’s art from “Henchman” below. Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12 is due out in stores and digitally on Tuesday, April 23rd.
