Product Description

Gotham City is plagued with crime and corruption in places high and low, but one man has taken a stand against evil of all forms: the dark avenger known as Batman. But now the Dark Knight is dead; apparently fallen at the hands of dying god Darkseid. "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" is a captivating and mysterious tale, the likes of which Batman and friends have never experienced before. Delving into the realms of life, death and the afterlife, no stone is left unturned in this exploration of every facet and era of Bruce Wayne's life. Neil Gaiman, the multiple award-winning author of "Sandman" and "Coraline", is joined by legendary artist Andy Kubert ("Batman and Son") for the ultimate Batman story!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2266 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-28
• Format: Special Edition
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Review
'Classy art from Andy Kubert and a finale of rare emotional depth make this more than an exercise in fan-boy reference spotting' --- The Daily Telegraph

'This does have truly the most goose pimple-inducing ending and is a masterful tale from the great Gaiman. Incredible artwork too!' --- Flipside

About the Author
Neil Gaiman is the most critically acclaimed comics writer alive and is the author of numerous bestselling books and graphic novels, winning countless awards. His best known work in comics is the epic Sandman series. Andy Kubert has long been one of comics' greatest talents, with work including both X-Men and Ultimate X-Men, Adam Strange, Captain America, 1602 and much more!

Customer Reviews

Batman Fans Must Buy This at Once - Read on to find out why!
This is a great Batman graphic novel in my opinion, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. There are five stories in here, all covering very different ideas, and all have very definite styles of artwork too,which may not be to everyone's liking, but the stories are all strong enough to deliver a great Batman experience to the reader.
The main story deals with the death of Batman, at some point in the future. Batman is lying in state in his coffin in Crime Alley - which is essentially where 'Batman' was born ; the place where his parents murdered. All of his friends and allies have turned up to pay their respects and tell their version of how he died. Cue a who's who of the Batman universe : Catwoman, Joker, Penguin, Alfred, Two-Face, the Riddler, Superman and others. What is very impressive is the love and attention to detail Neil Gaiman has put into this. One page in particular sums it up perfectly. Batman is in his coffin in almost three identical frames, but in each he is in a different style of his outfit from the original costume, through the long-eared phase, and into the current costume. Hidden in the crowd is a cavalcade of people involved in the Batman legend - Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy, Commissioner Gordon, Barbara Gordon (Oracle), Ra's al Ghul, Azrael and more that you will enjoy finding. And this is just so nice to see in a graphic novel. It actually rewards the dedicated fan, as well as the casual reader. The fact that Joe Chill is the barman at this event won't be lost on the real fans - he is the man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents.There are some classic lines in here too - the highlight being the Joker asking someone to keep an eye on his car while he is inside. Had there just been this story i would have been very happy, but there are four others.
These four aren't up to the high standards of the main story but they certainly add something different to the Batman universe. The highlight of these is Black and White World which sees Batman and Joker waiting to do their performances in the Batman comic. It is razor-sharp wit at it's finest - Batman helping Joker doing a crossword is very funny!
Pavane deals with a Poison Ivy backstory and is quite interesting, with very old-style artwork.Original Sins deals with a television company trying to organise a tv documentary with some of the Super-criminals and begins with Batman trying to warn the tv executive that it's a dangerous business covering this subject. The final story, 'When is a Door' concludes the 'Original Sins' storyline and deals with the origins of the Riddler and gives a great twist at the end of it.
I bought the hardback version, as at the time of writing this it is the only edition available.It is the deluxe version and has a really interesting Neil Gaiman introduction that is really worth reading, and you can see why the graphic novel is so good - he is a real afficianado, and has gone out of his way to capture the spirit of the Batman universe. It also has a great alternative cover in the gallery section by the legendary Alex Ross, amongst the original sketches for the main story.
This is an excellent graphic novel, and one i would rank with other classics such as the Return of the Dark Knight, the Killing Joke and Devil's Advocate.
Batman fanatics MUST buy this immediately! Casual fans will enjoy this too, but not to the same degree.
You will read this all in one sitting - SUPERB!!!

Excellent book, Neil Gaiman is a genious
You only have to look at other Neil Gaiman books and awards to know he is a 5 star, 10 out of 10 author, and this book is no exception. Cramming so much into the two parts of Caped Crusader when it could've been mediocre and still have sold. But cleverly written, with twists coming by the page turn and a startling end, really make Caped Crusader great value for money.
The other three stories are good as well, not as good as the main story but each show an interesting facet of characters that haven't been seen before.
If you don't mind a Batman story not about explosions or guns, this is the book for you.

Yes, whatever did happen?
'Batman - whatever happened to the caped crusader' is a complex, not linear, tale of Batman by Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Coraline) and beautifully drawn by Andy Kubert. This comic is a must have if you're a fan of the Batman series. If, however, you're a casual reader this work may be a bit confusing because quite a lot of Batman's adversaries, as well as regular Batman characters, appear without further introduction - and most even without dialogue or without being addressed. So it is helpful if you know a bit about the 'history' of Gotham and the characters, this will also make it easier to see how brilliantly Gaiman combines and expands the Batman myth.
The comic, graphic novel is an appropriate term as well, consists of the main tale, which I will come to in a second, and three additional tales: one very funny black and white tale where Batman and Joker are actually 'actors' who get paid to play their part in comic books. The Parvane story deals with Poison Ivy, as does much credit to this character. The last is a story about the Riddler, which could be read as a 'Riddler - the beginning' type of story...in Riddler style of course.

Spoiler alert, please do not read onward if you truly want to be surprised.

The main story concerns itself with Batman's possible demise: since he is mortal, he will one day inevitably die...how would that come to pass? Who would come to his funeral? From that moment onward nothing is as it seems to be. Several characters (adversaries) claim having killed him, or know how he was killed, but each story contradicts the tale of some other character so there is no certainty. The combination of various plotlines, such as the Joker and Alfred are just brilliant twists on the original Batman concept. I do not wish to give more away that I already did, thus i will conclude by stating that this comic is highly original and wildly imaginative. A true must have for fans, and worthwhile for casual reader (albeit, sometimes you will miss certain hints, jokes and background information)