Posted By Dan Greenfield on Aug 4, 2026 | 6 comments

I’ve said it before: If you’ve never read Wagner’s Batman, you’re doing it wrong…

In July, DC Comics released a new paperback edition of Matt Wagner’s Dark Moon Rising: Batman and the Monster Men, which gives us a modern take on the earliest Hugo Strange stories.

Now comes the follow-up: a new collection of Batman and the Mad Monk, to be released in 2027.

Dig the official description from Penguin Random House, which handles DC in the book market:

BATMAN AND THE MAD MONK (2027 EDITION)

Author Matt Wagner
Illustrated by Matt Wagner

Batman confronts a supernatural threat in a reimagining of one of the Dark Knight’s earliest cases.

Before Batman became Gotham City’s greatest protector, he faced a nightmare unlike anything he had encountered before.

When a series of mysterious deaths draws Bruce Wayne into the orbit of a secretive cult leader known as the Mad Monk, Batman finds himself confronting a threat that challenges both his detective skills and his understanding of the world around him. As the investigation deepens, he is pulled into a deadly conflict involving obsession, manipulation, and ancient evil lurking beneath Gotham’s surface.

Written and illustrated by acclaimed creator Matt Wagner, Batman and the Mad Monk reimagines one of the earliest Batman stories for a modern audience. Blending gothic horror, crime fiction, mystery, and adventure, this atmospheric tale expands the world established in Batman and the Monster Men while exploring Batman’s development during the earliest days of his crime-fighting career.

Collects Batman and the Mad Monk #1-6.

Paperback
$17.99
On sale April 6, 2027 | 144 Pages

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Buncha thoughts:

— The original saga, under the Dark Moon Rising banner, was released in 2005-07.

— In my head, this is the real Batman: Year Two. Not to knock the original, but that story never felt like a natural successor to Miller and Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One.

— I’d say I’d love Wagner’s take on the earliest Batman and Robin adventures, but we’re getting that these days from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. Still, a variant cover would be killer diller!

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MORE

— If You Haven’t Read MATT WAGNER’s BATMAN, You’re Doing It Wrong. Click here.

— BATMAN BY DOUG MOENCH OMNIBUS Coming in 2027. Click here.