Batman: Noel

What happens when Batman gets a bad cold? Does Gotham and its perpetually overwhelmed police force fall to pieces? Bermejo’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek answer to that question puts the Dark Knight—who, by the way, doesn’t seem to believe he can get sick, no matter how bad the cough claims otherwise—into a scenario that’s mostly A Christmas Carol, with a dash of It’s a Wonderful Life. A crusty, streetwise narrator follows the story’s Bob Cratchit stand-in, a low-level crook who Batman is willing to dangerously dangle as bait—no matter that Bob has a Tiny Tim–like son at home. Ghosts of Batman’s more lighthearted past swing by, whether it’s the memory of Robin or an all-too-real Catwoman, who doesn’t get why he won’t play with her like he once did. The moral hangs heavy over Bermejo’s snowy, painterly Gotham, with Batman as the grizzled old vigilante trying to remember why he got into this game in the first place, and whether it’s even worth it. As a follow-up to the bestselling Joker graphic novel that he painted, Bermejo has created a clever, thoughtful piece of work, and one of the more satisfying Batman one-offs. (Nov.)