whatever happened to the caped crusader

whatever happened to the caped crusader
neil gaiman & andy kubert
graphics/superhero/crime
dc comics
published 2010

He is Gotham City's protector, its avenging spirit, its Dark Knight.  For yrs he has waged a one-man war to keep its streets safe.  But tonight that war has claimed its last and greatest casualty.

Batman himself.

The Masked Manhunter lies in a coffin in Crime Alley, the place where he was born.  His closest friends and deadliest enemies gather to pay their final respects.  Each of them tells a very different story of the Batman they knew: how he lived...and how he died.

Like a shadow in the night, a dark figure watches over this macabre memorial.  He knows that the contradictory tales these heroes and villains are telling cannot possibly all be true.  Before the night is over, before the lid is closed on the Batman forever, he must have answer the question: whatever happened to the caped crusader?

Written by Neil Gaiman as kind of a farewell to his favorite character, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader was to be two issues ending the Batman and Detective Comics series.

This is quintessential Gaiman.  Very ethereal, very surreal.  While the whole time you know it is Batman speaking in the background you're not sure who he is speaking to.  As the book progresses it becomes more clear until you realize it was quite the obvious choice.

Two issues, very short and a very good send off to the character that everyone, even his enemies loved.