DC Finest: Batman: The Curse of Crime Alley

Some scars fade. Crime Alley never does. Denny O’Neil (Batman), and Len Wein (Swamp Thing) headline a run that fuses crime noir, gothic horror, and raw emotion. Night after night, Gotham throws its worst at Batman: killers who freeze their victims, arsonists who turn the city into a burning maze, mystics and vampires haunting alleys, assassins sworn to Ra’s al Ghul, and a clown prince who treats murder as performance art. This era also marks the pivotal debut of Lucius Fox, a figure who will become essential to both Bruce Wayne’s personal and corporate life.Threaded through it all is Bruce Wayne’s ritual return to the place where it began-Crime Alley-and the allies and enemies who remind him why he can never stop. Guided by Denny O’Neil (Green Lantern/Green Arrow) and Len Wein (Detective Comics), and including "Wanted: Santa Claus-Dead or Alive!"-a crucial early Batman story by award-winning writer-artist Frank Miller (Batman: Year One)-this era pairs hard-hitting scripts with striking