MY FAVORITE BATMAN COVERS

Part 1 of a series:

This cover, originally drawn for Detective Comics #31 by Batman co-creator Bob Kane (September 1939: Batman vs. the Vampire, written by Kane and Gardner Fox), was only the 5th appearance of Batman and has often been repeated.

Most notably in the two covers that follow: Batman #227 by Neal Adams (December 1970: the Demon of Gothos Mansion, written by Denny O'Neil, interior pencils by Irv Novick), and more recently, as the cover to the first issue of the mini-series, Batman and the Mad Monk by Matt Wagner (October 2006: Part 1 of 6, written/drawn by Wagner.) The last is an exploration of that classic story from 'Tec #31, expanding on the titular character, the Mad Monk.

As much as I love the classic Gothic Romance vibe & the ink-wash technique of the Adams cover, and the painted art/computer rendered look that shows up in Wagner's version, the original still stands as one of my top five all-time favorite Batman covers.

Over the next year and a half - leading up to Batman's 80th Anniversary - I plan on featuring more and more stories on the character that got me into comics nearly 25 years ago and remains my favorite fiction character, in any medium.

All covers we're pulled from scans of my own collection, or in the case of those I don't own, from the greatest comicbook resource on the web: the Grand Comic Database project. Learn more about them and their mission, here!