| Batman: Gotham Knights | |
|---|---|
 Cover toBatman: Gotham Knights #43 (2003), featuring Batman and two of his allies:Batgirl andRobin. The cover mirrors Batgirl's first appearance; art byBrian Bolland. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | March 2000 – April 2006 |
| No. of issues | 74 |
| Main character | Batman |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Devin Grayson Scott Beatty A. J. Lieberman |
| Penciller(s) | Dale Eaglesham Paul Ryan Roger Robinson Al Barrionuevo Dick Giordano Javier Pina Leonardo Manco |
| Inker(s) | John Floyd Bit |
| Letterer(s) | Bill Oakley Clem Robins |
| Colorist(s) | Wildstorm FX Pamela Rambo |
| Editor(s) | Joseph Illidge Dennis O'Neil |
| Collected editions | |
| Batman Black and White Volume 2 | ISBN 1-56389-828-4 |
| Batman Black and White Volume 3 | ISBN 978-1-4012-1531-6 |
Batman: Gotham Knights is a monthlyAmerican comic book series that was published byDC Comics. The original intent of this book was to feature the exploits ofBatman and hisextended family, such asAlfred Pennyworth,Batgirl,Nightwing,Robin,Oracle, andCatwoman, among others. The latter section of the run, however, came to focus much more upon hisenemies.
The series also featured the popular "Batman: Black and White" back-up strip, which allowed various artists with widely varying styles to do their take on the Dark Knight in a black and white format. These back-up strips are also collected intrade paperback form. Contributors to this section includeJim Lee,John Byrne,John Buscema,Eduardo Risso,Jordi Bernet,José Luis García-López,Kyle Baker,Harlan Ellison,Dave Gibbons,Gene Ha,Gene Colan,Enrique Breccia,Claudio Castellini,Dick Giordano, Christian Alamy, Jason Pearson,Mike Wieringo,Alan Davis,Chris Bachalo,Denys Cowan,John Watkiss,Mike Kaluta, andWhilce Portacio.
Batman: Gotham Knights began in the wake of theBatman: No Man's Land event, a year-long crossover event that had involved all main Batman titles.No Man's Land was followed by a soft relaunch of the main Batman titles, with new creative teams and new editorial direction; as part of this shakeup, the seriesBatman: Shadow of the Bat was cancelled and replaced withBatman: Gotham Knights. The original creative team consisted of writerDevin Grayson, the first ongoing female writer on a main Batman title, and alternating pencillersDale Eaglesham andPaul Ryan. Meanwhile, the eight-page black-and-white backup stories were each written and drawn by different writers and artists. Issue #1, titled "Constraints", was published on January 19,2000 (with a cover date of March). Ongoing penciller Roger Robinson began working on the series from issue #8, "Transference Part 1".
Issues #25–31 were integrated into theBruce Wayne – Murderer? andBruce Wayne – Fugitive crossover storylines. Grayson's run as writer ended at issue #32 with the critically-acclaimed one-issue story "24/7" showing a full day in the life of Batman. Scott Beatty then took over as writer from issue #33, with Robinson remaining as penciller. Beatty departed the series after issue #49, at which point the "Batman: Black and White" backup stories also ended.
The series was reinvented from issue #50 under the new creative team of writer A.J. Lieberman and penciller Al Barrionuevo: where previously the series had focused on Batman and the wider Bat-family of superheroes, the series shifted focus to examine Batman's relationships with his villains.Batman: Gotham Knights ultimately ran for a total of 74 issues with the last issue cover-dated April2006. This title was among several which were cancelled at the conclusion of theInfinite Crisis storyline, before DC's "One Year Later" line-wide relaunch. The final story arc was left unresolved but was closed with Paul Dini'sDetective Comics arcHeart of Hush.
AlthoughBatman: Gotham Knights was originally uncollected at the time of publication, the majority of Devin Grayson's run as writer of the series has since been collected into twotrade paperback volumes. The first story arc written by A.J. Lieberman was also collected in trade paperback form around the time of its original publication.
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batman: Gotham Knights – Transference | Batman: Gotham Knights #1–12 | January 1, 2020[1] | 978-1-4012-9407-6 |
| Batman: Gotham Knights – Contested | Batman: Gotham Knights #14–24 and #32 | February 23, 2021[2] | 978-1-77950-306-0 |
| Batman: Hush Returns | Batman: Gotham Knights #50–55 and 66 | January 11, 2006[3] | 978-1-4012-0900-1 |
Issues ofBatman: Gotham Knights have also been included in collections of crossover events involving multiple Batman-related titles:
Additionally, individual stories fromBatman: Gotham Knights have been included in other collected editions. Issue #10, "Guardian", was included inLegends of the Dark Knight: José Luis García-López, published in November 2021. Issue #23, "Fear of Success", was included inBatman: Scarecrow Tales, published April 2005. Issue #32, "24/7", was included in the first volume ofBatman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, also published April 2005. Several stories were also included in theBatman: Arkham trade paperback collections, published 2017 to present:
The "Batman: Black and White" backup stories published in issues #1-49 have been collected in their own series of hardcover and paperback collections. The stories from issues #1-16 were included alongside five never-before-published stories inBatman: Black and White Volume 2, initially published in September 2002 as a hardcover book[4] and republished in October 2003 as an oversized softcover.[5] The backup stories from issues #17-49Batman: Black and White Volume 3 were published as a comics-sized hardcover in May 2007,[6] while a softcover edition was released in 2008.[7]
