Batman: War on Crime

Batman: War on Crime
Batman: War on Crime (Dec. 1999).
Cover art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Format One-shot
Creative team
Written by Alex Ross and Paul Dini
Artist(s) Alex Ross
Collected editions
Batman: War on Crime ISBN 9781563895760

Batman: War on Crime is a treasury giant prestige format graphic novel published by DC Comics in December 1999. The work is the second in a series of collaborations between artist Alex Ross and writer Paul Dini, following Superman: Peace on Earth. The comic received both a Harvey and Eisner Award, two of the comics industry's highest honors.

Plot

Bruce Wayne is in a business meeting with corrupt Randall Winters, as he proposes to replace the Bayside area. That night in Bayside, Batman hears gunshots in a store and captures the mugger. When he checks the bodies, he notices something familiar and unexpected: a boy who saw his parents die. The boy, Marcus, is seen by Batman as a mirror to his eight-year-old self. The next night, Batman takes care of a gang with Marcus as one of them, and he runs off. The very next night, Batman stops a drug location and confronts a gun weiding Marcus. Talking him down, asking him not to become what killed his parents, and he lowers the gun. Having given Marcus new hope for the future, Bruce Wayne decides to make changes without the mask by helping rebuild Bayside, not replace it. Randall is not so happy, but due to other things going on, Randall is arrested. Batman knows he is fighting a war he cannot completely win, but the small victories encourage him to keep trying, and hopes that soon he'll move on from his pain.

Production

  • In creating his Batman, Ross based his take from the 1939 version by having him not have his vehicles like the Batmobile, and have him just appear on the scene. The reason was, at the time after the release of Batman & Robin, Batman had gone too hi-tech, and Batman is scarier if he just appears. For the mask Ross came up with the concept on having the mask act as a second skin by having the eyeholes come right up to the upper and lower eyelids so the mask becomes the face.

Sales

War on Crime was the top-selling graphic novel in comic stores at the time of its release, selling an estimated 49,183 units.[1] The comic went on to become the best-selling trade paperback of 1999 as well.[2]

Awards

  • Harvey Awards
    • 2000 Harvey Awards Best Graphic Album of Original Work, Batman: War on Crime by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, edited by Charles Kochman and Joey Cavalieri (DC)[3]
  • Eisner Awards
    • 2000 Eisner Awards Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, Alex Ross, Batman: War on Crime (DC)[4]
  • Comics Buyers Guide Fan Awards
    • Favorite Original Graphic Novel Award (1st place 26.4%) Batman: War on Crime[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Comichron: November 1999 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". www.comichron.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  2. ↑ "Comichron: Top Comics by Year". www.comichron.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  3. ↑ "2000 Harvey Awards | Harvey Awards". 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  4. ↑ "2000s". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  5. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/cbg99.php

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