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: #3407 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!!!

Boring
As a Batman fan I found this book to be boring and not what I like to find in a Batman graphic novel.
I like Neil Gaiman's dark shadowy stories which suit Batman perfectly, however, this is unfortunately not what he's created here. "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" is a very fitting title.

Could have been better
A good comic book to read, if you like batman, with really good drawings. I had a good time reading it but it wasn't what i expected. Having read other comic albums from the author Gaiman and loving batman as a detective and an action hero, i imagined that this book would be excellent. The title is very promising but in the end, after having read it it was just ok. Nothing special.