Batman: Black and White
| Batman Black and White | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Title(s) | Batman Black and White |
| Formats | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | June – September 1996 |
| Number of issues | 4 |
| Main character(s) | Batman |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Archie Goodwin, Jan Strnad, Chuck Dixon, Neil Gaiman, Andrew Helfer, Denny O'Neil |
| Artist(s) | Ted McKeever, Bruce Timm, Joe Kubert, Howard Chaykin, José Muñoz, Walt Simonson, Richard Corben, Jorge Zaffino, Simon Bisley, Klaus Janson, Tanino Liberatore, Bill Sienkiewicz, Brian Bolland, Kevin Nowlan, Brian Stelfreeze |
| Editor(s) |
Mark Chiarello Scott Peterson Darren Vincenzo |
| Reprints | |
| Collected editions | |
| Volume 1 | ISBN |
Batman Black and White refers both to a four-issue comic book limited series published in 1996 by DC Comics, and three collections of 8-page black-and-white Batman stories, comprising the limited series and backup features from the Batman: Gotham Knights comic.
The origin of the series is told by editor Mark Chiarello in his introduction to the first collection, in which he writes about a dinner table-discussion with "a few famous comic-book artists," at which they pondered the "desert island" question in terms of a single complete run of comics one would be happy to be stranded with. Ultimately, with "half a minute"'s thought, they "amazingly... all agreed, pound for pound, page for page" that the unequivocal choice was Warren Publishing's Creepy, a high point unmatched since "there has never been such a collection of stellar artists assembled under one banner publication" as in Creepy, whose pages were host to (among others) "Toth, Frazetta, Williamson, Torres, Colan, Ditko, Wrightson, Corben[, etc.]." Chiarello notes that "most of those stories" were written by one man: Archie Goodwin "probably the very best editor ever to work in comics, probably the very best writer ever to work in comics," (and early mentor to Chiarello when the two worked at Marvel) whose Warren work was itself an "homage to the favorite comics of his youth, the E.C. line."
When Chiarello became a Batman editor "a whole bunch of years" later, he naturally "pitch[ed] the idea of a black and white anthology." Told by many colleagues that it wouldn't sell - both as an anthology and a black-and-white title, neither purportedly widely liked by comics readers - the idea was green lighted, and Mike Carlin and Scott Peterson joined Chiarello to "make sure [he] didn't destroy the integrity of [Batman]." Chiarello's initial thought - "to hire the very best artists in the business" led to he and Peterson assembling a wish list and contacting artists. The series ultimately became "a creative and financial success," when the first four-issue volume was published between June and September 1996. (There was also a free Preview issued in 1996.) Each of the four issues featured several self-contained short-stories, all written and drawn by a diverse group of comic artists and writers, most of whom had previously worked on Batman comics. Each story varied in theme, setting, and tone (depending on the creative team involved), offering multiple interpretations of Batman - and, in some cases, his supporting characters - usually by exploring their inner pathos and relationships.
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