Acclaimed writer Kurt Busiek is teaming with award-winning artist John Paul Leon to tackle the Dark Knight - sort of. In Batman: Creature of the Night, the pair present a tale that will examine what happens when a young boy from Boston, MA, looks to the fictional superhero for inspiration.

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The series, announced today by DC Comics, is a "companion series" to Busiek's similarly themed Superman: Secret Identity, which told the story of a man in the "real" world named Clark Kent and how sharing the same name as the Man of Steel affected his life.

Like Secret Identity, Batman: Creature of the Night is set outside of the DC Universe. The four-issue prestige format series stars Bruce Wainwright, "a comic book-reading kid whose obsession with the Caped Crusader leads him to some very dark places which he must ultimately confront when his parents are murdered after walking in on a robbery." But while Creature of the Night and Secret Identity are somewhat similar, they aren't identical, with the new series taking a different approach to its storytelling conceit. "It’s a story about loss and confronting your inner demons in the face of that loss," the offical press release explains, "that takes a turn towards the unusual when a familiar-looking crimefighter begins to appear on the city streets."

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Check out the cover art and an unlettered preview of Batman: Creature of the Night below, along with the first issue's solicitation text.

BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT #1

  • Written by KURT BUSIEK
  • Art and cover by JOHN PAUL LEON
  • Young Bruce Wainwright lost his parents in a violent crime…and in the real world, no superheroes exist to save the day. But as grief and rage builds inside Bruce until he feels he can’t keep it inside anymore, something strange starts taking wing in the Gotham night! Perhaps Bruce’s grief isn’t inside him after all?
  • Modern masters Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon unite for the spiritual companion to the beloved SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY, putting a new spin you’ve never seen before on the legend of Batman—and the dark emotions that drive him!
  • On sale NOVEMBER 29 • 48 pg, FC, 1 of 4, $5.99 US • RATED T+

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