Batman: Dead White by John Shirley

For the casual fan and the die-hard alike, Batman stories are generally thought to involve at least one member of the rogue's gallery, even in a background role. For me, part of the constant allure is not only seeing which villain is involved in the Caped Crusader's current dilemma, but how the conflict might be either unique or relevant to contemporary history, if at all. No such element exists in "Dead White". Instead, author John Shirley takes Batman's persona as detective and utilizes it in a somewhat more real-world crime story involving a gang of white supremacist drug and weapons merchants. Essentially, it takes the ying of Batman's extreme personality and butts it up against the yang of a more realistic extreme of racist militia groups. If this concept seems to be on the mature side of the spectrum, that would be a correct assumption. Unlike even the more adult-oriented Batman stories available, the language and situations are adults only, making both an interesting new take on the Dark Knight and a great crime drama.