Batman Black and White, Volume One #1–4
All-Star Monochrome Dark Knight Miniseries Had Unique Short Stories
Jul 12, 2009
Overseen by DC Comics editors Mark Ciarello and Scott Peterson, Batman: Black and White was a limited series of four oversized issues, released in mid-1996. Ciarello's original concept was to create a Batman anthology, in black and white art alone, which solicited contributions from the best writers and artists working in comics.
Each issue of Black and White featured five stories of eight pages each, written and illustrated by a wide range of American and international talents. The issues showcased one-page pin-ups as well, and had covers done by Jim Lee and Scott Williams, Frank Miller, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Alex Toth.
Some of the Highlights of Batman: Black and White, #1–2
Bruce Timm, creator of the groundbreaking TV show Batman: The Animated Series, contributed "Two of a Kind" to Black and White's first issue. This tightly-written meditation on duality featured Harvey Dent/Two-Face's doomed love affair with a pair of twins, and gave fans a taste of Timm's cartoon style geared toward a mature audience.
Perhaps the most memorable story from Black and White #2 is "A Black & White World," written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Simon Bisley. In this tale, Batman and the Joker act out their comic book roles like B-list stars on a movie set, complaining about their lines, and worrying about whether there will be any food left at the commissary.
Some of the Highlights of Batman: Black and White, #3–4
As in the series as a whole, international talents were featured in Black and White #3, including Italian artist Tanino Liberatore and Danish artist Teddy Kristiansen. But iconoclastic Americans aren't neglected in this issue either – Matt Wagner's "Heist" provided a unique look at Batman's technique of picking off criminals in the dark.
Black and White #4 closed the series on a particularly high note. Memorable stories from legends Brian Bolland (of The Killing Joke fame) and Katsuhiro Otomo (in a rare return to comics after finishing his Akira manga), and art by Kevin Nowlan were highlights. The story "Heroes," by Archie Goodwin and Gary Gianni, even went on to win an Eisner Award.
Batman: Black and White #1–4 were collected in 1998 in a beautiful hardcover edition, with a painted cover by Jeffrey Jones and a bonus plate, "City of the Blind" by Jim Steranko. The collected edition also featured behind-the-scenes looks at each issue, with concept art and alternate versions – such as the story behind the controversial ending to Klaus Janson's "Good Evening Midnight."
Spin-offs to Batman: Black and White, Volume One
While the Batman: Black and White miniseries only ran four issues, the concept of eight-page, monochromatic Batman stories was not abandoned. The monthly series Batman: Gotham Knights, running from 2000 to 2006, included a Black and White-style short story at the end of each issue, and these were done by top artists such as John Byrne, and writers such as Harlan Ellison.
The vignettes from the first sixteen issues of Gotham Knights were collected as Batman: Black and White, Volume Two (2002). In addition to the reprints, the volume contained five original stories by such comics heavyweights as Chris Claremont, Tim Sale, and Alex Ross. Batman: Black and White, Volume Three (2007) collected the vignettes originally published in Gotham Knights #17–36, but contained no new stories.
The Legacy of Batman: Black and White
Though the concept became predictable by the mid-2000s, the original Batman: Black and White miniseries was a commercial and artistic success. Black and White featured some of the best comics artists and writers working in the 1990s, and, within the constraint of eight monochrome pages, gave them the freedom to create some still-unsurpassed interpretations of the Dark Knight.
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