A worthy addition to the Batman canon… By PETER STONE I can only imagine that creating a new character for the Batman mythos must be incredibly difficult. In the past 25 years, for example, there have only been a handful that have stuck around: Hush, the Court of Owls, the Batman Who Laughs, and Punchline, among them. Sometimes, these characters are created carefully by accomplished writers. Other times, it is a talented artist who brings one to life. But when authors and illustrators are working in synch, the results can be especially dynamic. In the ’80s, Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli gave us Carmine Falcone. In the aughts, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee gave us Hush. More recently, James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez gave us Punchline. In between, there was Azrael, the antihero created in 1992 by writer Denny O’Neil — who was already a legend, thanks to some of the best Batman stories ever — and artist Joe Quesada, an up-and-coming talent who went on to run Marvel Comics for years. The inker was also one of the best in the industry, Kevin Nowlan. Batman: Sword of Azrael was designed to be the origin story for a new hero in Gotham. Instead of shoehorning this character into the regular flow of the Batman books, Denny threw out the idea to make the introduction a four-issue mini-series, allowing Quesada and himself to really dive in to Jean-Paul Valley’s beginnings. It was Quesada who asked the powers-that-be if it would be OK if Kevin inked. The answer to that question in ANY universe is, “Hell, yes!” The story opens with Azrael looking for all the world like an avenging angel of justice, being shot multiple times as he tries to eliminate a crime boss. It turns out, though, that he’s just a man, whose name and purpose stretch back to the 14th century. His son, cradling his dying father in his arms, promises to learn to be Azrael as his father did. Enter the Batman, who traces the insignia on Azrael’s sword to the Ancient Order of St. Dumas and a lonely chalet in Switzerland. Once they come to terms with each other, Batman and Jean-Paul, the new Azrael, “team up” to defeat the main villain. Since then, Azrael has appeared in comics, video games, and animated shows —...