Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
Cover of Legends of the Dark Knight #2 (Dec. 1989), art by Ed Hannigan and George Pratt, cover design and logo by Dean Motter.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly, with a few biweekly runs
Format	Completed ongoing series
Publication date	(Legends of the Dark Knight) November 1989 – late August 1992 (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight) September 1992 – March 2007 (Legends of the Dark Knight (vol. 2)) June 2012 – December 2013
No. of issues	vol. 1: 215 (225 with seven Annuals, three Specials and one three-issue miniseries) vol. 2: 79 weekly digital issues
Main character(s)	Batman
Collected editions
Shaman	ISBN 1-56389-083-6
Gothic	ISBN 1-56389-028-3
Prey	ISBN 1-4012-3515-8
Venom	ISBN 1-56389-101-8
Faces	ISBN 1-56389-126-3
Collected Legends of the Dark Knight	ISBN 1-56389-147-6
Other Realms	ISBN 1-85286-977-1
Dark Legends	ISBN 1-56389-266-9
Going Sane	ISBN 1-40121-821-0
Monsters	ISBN 1-40122-494-6
KnightsEnd	ISBN 1-56389-191-3
The Ring, The Arrow and The Bat	ISBN 1-4012-0126-1
Terror	ISBN 1-4012-0125-3
Snow	ISBN 1-4012-1265-4

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, often simply called Legends of the Dark Knight, is the name of several DC comic books featuring Batman. The original series launched in 1989 as the third major monthly Batman title, following the popularity of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman. Many of the stories follow the tone of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The series differed from other Batman titles of the time. The creative team rotated with every story arc and the stories stood alone, unlike the inter-connected nature of other Batman comics. Initially the title ran stories contained to five issues, often with more mature topics and sensibilities than the other Batman titles. After issue #20, the number of issues for each story began to vary and occasionally tied into crossover events.

Most stories in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight are set early in Batman's career, although a few are set in the present and even the future. Stories set early in Batman's career are commonly referred to as "Year One" stories, loosely meaning Bruce Wayne's first several years of crimefighting as Batman.^[1] Stories in the title were initially only from before Robin, but Dick Grayson began appearing sporadically in later issues. The series, for the most part, eschewed appearances by other DC Universe superheroes and focused on Batman and his closest partners Alfred Pennyworth, Commissioner Gordon, and Batman's rogues gallery.

The title was discontinued with issue #214 (March 2007) and replaced with a new Batman anthology series, Batman Confidential, which focuses on more personal events in Batman's life (first encounters, building of new technology, etc.), rather than early crime-fighting tales.

Some of the creative talent who have worked on the series include Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Archie Goodwin, Dennis O'Neil, Dwayne McDuffie, Doug Moench, Grant Morrison, Mike Mignola, Bill Willingham, Matt Wagner and Marshall Rogers.

In 2012, DC Comics revived the series as Legends of the Dark Knight, a digital-first weekly series. The series was similarly composed of self-contained stories with revolving creative teams. The first issue, "The Butler Did It", by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire, debuted in June 2012.