#Batman: Dark Patterns

[comicsiswild]

Batman: Dark Patterns (2024) #4

[jkparkin]

Batman: Dark Patterns #8 (DC, July 2025) variant cover by Martin Simmonds

[demigodoreo]

Batman: Dark Patterns #7

[pierppasolini]

Batman: Dark Patterns #2

[brutalgamer]

Batman: Dark Patterns brings a brutal Gotham and the hero's early days to life this December

A maxi-series from DC Comics, Batman: Dark Patterns tells a tale of rampant crime in Gotham, set in the Dark Knight’s early days.

[vertigoartgore]

2024's Batman: Dark Patterns Vol.1 #1 cover by Hayden Sherman.

[kelaeri]

Textless panel from Batman: Dark Patterns #1

If you like some of the more twisted and gritty Batman stories, you should definitely give Batman: Dark Patterns a shot. Written by Dan Watters and illustrated by Hayden Sherman, this 12-issue mini series will follow four cases from Bruce's early (pre-Robin) days as Batman.

I'm already hooked from the first issue. The second releases today and I am so excited to read it. With Nightwing and Detective Comics-- and now this-- Watters is a DC writer I'll absolutely be following closely.

[smashpages]

Batman: Dark Patterns #1 (DC, December 2024) variant cover by Stevan Subic

[salparadiselost]

Batman: Dark Patterns #1

All spoilers for Batman: Dark Patterns #1 so I'd read it before this.

This was the only thing I pulled this week and god I'm glad I did it. My comics guy actually took it out of someone else's file because he likes me and I'm eternally grateful for it.

I'll admit I came into this with some hype. Dan Watters is a newer writer for me, but I love horror and I'm liking what he's doing with his Nightwing run so far. Plus, as I was just telling the GC, I was missing Bruce doing Bruce Things. As you can guess, I read mostly Bats and the Bat stuff that I'm currently reading is really just Bruce adjacent. I'm pulling Nightwing, Batgirl, B&R: Year One, Absolute Batman, which are all solid books, but it's not Bruce doing Bruce things and I miss my fucked-up man.

This is definitely see a return to detective Bruce here and it's very in the vein of Reeve's "The Batman". Battinson and Dark Patterns Batman could basically be the same person with the amount of monologuing they do about the dark nature of Gotham and the unchangeability of crime and the "yadadada I'm the night" stuff. This is also a new Batman (three years into the Bat) so that fits with his early Emo nature. Don't get me wrong, I love this shit, even if I'm sighing at the thought of *another* brand new Batman comic. It does frustrate me a bit that more modern comics tend to put a definitive line to how dark and scary Batman threats are based upon if there's a Robin present. No Robin? Bruce can get into the dark, gritty and gross. Robin? Well, no we can't have a child see that. But you can with Robin! I also notice this a bit with the line between what girl bats do vs boy bats, but I'll talk about that with my Nightwing and Batgirl comparision.

Whatever, I digress. This issue was a great start to what I hope to be a tight and gothic story. The villain, The Wound Man, is interesting so far. I like the angle of using Bruce's no-kill rule against (?) him and how he's forced to really change how he fights because his opponent cannot feel pain. He's forced to change how he operates because one strike could potentially kill his opponent and none of what he usually does to immobilise actually works. It's fun and god knows I love a medieval throw back moment.

I'm also interested by this sort of greater theme that Watters is setting up. The Wound Man is targeting men who have lost everything in tragedy and now live a completely lonely life. I don't think Bruce himself quite realises that he fits this MO to a bill (perfect reason to adopt a child!), but he's definitely on the list. The MO also speaks to the real-life trend of male lonliness and the tendency of men to self-isolate after loss. Maybe I'm reaching, but I think there could be a deeper message to mine here and I'm curious if Watters is going to try to tackle it. I think it would be an important thing to hit and show that loneliness as a component to horror. Because there is so much horror in dying in pain and alone.

[smillingcartoonist]

Batman: Dark Patterns 3 #

[theaudientvoid]

[comicsiswild]

Batman: Dark Patterns (2024) #1

[jkparkin]

Batman: Dark Patterns #4 (DC, March 2025) cover by Hayden Sherman

[demigodoreo]

Batman: Dark Patterns #6

[pierppasolini]

Batman: Dark Patterns #7

[brutalgamer]

Preview: The past never dies, as a new arc kicks off in Batman: Dark Patterns #7

The crime anthology series Batman: Dark Patterns rolls on, bringing a red-hot new case for the Dark Knight to solve.