Sunday Trade: Batman

Batman & the Monster Men by Matt Wagner, with colors by Dave Stewart and letters by Rob Leigh

A retelling of a classic Batman story. Set a just a year after Batman's initial appearance, the rookie vigilante runs across the first of what of will be many colorful foes. In this case, while working to bring down one of the many Gotham mobs he is confronted by the bizarre human experiments of Dr. Hugo Strange. And at the same time he begins to learn the difficulty of balancing a "normal" life with his nightly crusade...

Wagner brings one of the Batman's earliest tales to startling new life. He captures the Batman's perfect balance between crazed obsessive and dedicated hero. Add in a doomed early love for the beautiful Julie Madison, a woman who's family has their own dangerous secrets and you've got a spot on tale of DC's Dark Knight..