Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1

History

After acclaimed runs on Detective Comics (1987–1990) and the main Batman title (1990–1992), writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle were tapped by editor Denny O'Neil to launch Shadow of the Bat — described by sources close to the team as the first new Batman ongoing in decades — just three weeks after Grant's final issue of Batman. The series was conceived as a fresh showcase for the Grant/Breyfogle partnership, printed on higher-quality paper stock that allowed Breyfogle's intense linework and Adrienne Roy's coloring to register more vividly than on earlier newsstand formats. The name 'Zsasz' was, as Grant later disclosed in the trade paperback foreword, spotted on a library shelf — a nod to psychiatrist Thomas Szasz — making the character's creation an almost accidental piece of Bat-history.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Victor Zsasz (Mr. Zsasz), a psychopathic serial killer who carves tally marks into his own skin; created by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle.
• First appearance of Jeremiah Arkham, new warden of Arkham Asylum and nephew of founder Amadeus Arkham; Jeremiah would later be revealed as the second Black Mask.
• Serves as Part 1 of the four-part story arc 'The Last Arkham,' which ran through Shadow of the Bat #1–4 and was later collected as a standalone trade paperback.
• Written by Alan Grant; interior art by Norm Breyfogle; painted cover by Brian Stelfreeze, who provided airbrushed covers for the first 50 issues of the series.
• Published in two distinct editions: a standard newsstand/direct edition and a deluxe polybagged Collector's Set that included a Brian Stelfreeze poster, a 3D Arkham Asylum pop-up, detailed Arkham blueprints, and a Batman bookmark.
• The series was DC's fourth concurrent ongoing Batman title at launch, positioned alongside Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, but differentiated by its focus on the present-day continuity and psychological character studies.
• Victor Zsasz has since appeared in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (portrayed by Tim Booth), in Birds of Prey (2020, portrayed by Chris Messina), and is voiced by Danny Jacobs across the Batman: Arkham video game series.
• The first four issues were collected in the trade paperback Batman: The Last Arkham; the full series has been reprinted across four collected volumes published by DC starting in 2016.

Full credits

Key issues in Batman: Shadow of the Bat

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#21 1st appearance — The Hood

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#3 1st appearance — Egghead

Variants (2)