Books like Batman by John Shirley

After a botched hit, ex‑cop turned hitman Nick Sax must evade cops and mob while confronting a child‑killer Santa armed with a deadly secret, all set to collide during a twisted Christmas with an unlikely companion named Happy.

Explore Batman’s roster of master criminals and the gadgets he employs to bring them to justice.

Catwoman plots to steal two priceless statues, and Batman must anticipate her next move to foil the heist.

Batman strikes fear in the hearts of criminals, but there’s a killer stalking Gotham who’s even better at inspiring fright–and his method just might be unbeatable . . . because it’s invisible. Unbeknownst to the general public, a powerful new designer drug has hit the streets of Gotham, courtesy of an evil genius determined to turn the expression “scared to death” into lethal reality. Unlike the Caped Crusader, who petrifies only villains, this mastermind is targeting decent citizens–and he’s come up with the ultimate delivery system. After all, the public can’t refuse something they can’t see, hear, or smell. That’s the beauty of a terror toxin that is undetectable by the human senses. And with all of Gotham’s super-villains incarcerated, Batman must hunt down a mystery madman about whom he knows nothing. Maybe the Dark Knight should be afraid . . . because there’s plenty to fear when you go head-to-head with fear itself.

The Batman, a graphic novel, explores the darker, more serious tone of Gotham City in the 1960s through the lens of art and storytelling by Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, and Irv Novick.