Batman: Knightfall

As Batman, millionaire Bruce Wayne has always protected Gotham City. He's never been beaten. But now, in this breathtaking new novel by Dennis O'Neil — one of the most respected creators in comics and the guiding force behind the Batman mythos at DC Comics — the Dark Knight faces an enemy unlike any he's ever encountered: Bane. A villian of superhuman strength, cunning, and evil, Bane's already considerable skills are enhanced by injections of Venom, and experimental supersteroid drug that renders him virtually invincible.

Bane's dark plan: to release the dangerous inmates of Arkham Asylum on the city and watch as Batman desperately tries to hunt them all down. Only then, when Batman is at his weakest, does Bane strike. When their dramatic confrontation climaxes, it is Batman who is broken in both body and spirit.

As he recuperates from the crippling injuries that could leave him permanently disabled, Bruce Wayne must face the grim truth: With Bane declaring war on Gotham City, a new Batman must be found to assume to role of the Dark Knight. But is Wayne's dark apprentice, Jean Paul Valley — a young vigilante known as Azrael — worthy of wearing the mantle of the Bat? Even more important, is Gotham ready for this new Batman and his harsh brand of lethal justice? And what will happen when Bruce Wayne decides to reclaim Gotham City and his role as Batman?

Brilliantly conceived and exectuted, Batman: Knightfall is an impressive achievement. As only a novel can, Knightfall adds new depth and detail to the Batman legend, expanding the mythos as it brings his greatest story to life and explroes the question of what is means to be a hero. Here for the first time in prose is the complete epic adventure of the fall, the search, the crusade, and the dark quest to claim the legacy of the hero known as the Batman.

Dennis O'Neil is a group editor at DC Comics. As editor and writer, he's helped return the character of Batman to his roots as a dark, mysterious, gothic avenger. O'Neil began his career in the mid-sixties as Stan Lee's editorial assistant at Marvel Comics and went on to become one of the industry's most successful and respected comic-book writers and creators. As a freelance writer and journalist, he has produced several novels and works of nonfiction, as well as hundreds of comics, reviews, teleplays, and short stories. A frequent guest at conventions and on television, O'Neil teaches writing at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He currently lives and works in New York, with his wife, Marifran.