Batman: Death by Design

In this 2013 DC prestige one-shot, writer/designer Chip Kidd and artist Dave Taylor craft a moody, Art Deco-infused mystery that reimagines the early days of Gotham City’s skyline. The story follows an ambitious architect whose revolutionary building project becomes entangled with a series of deadly accidents, forcing the Dark Knight to investigate a construction site where progress and peril collide. Kidd’s sleek, period-appropriate narrative and Taylor’s shadow-drenched, photorealistic art give this single issue the feel of a lost noir film, making it a distinctive, visually lush addition to the Batman mythos.