There Is No Hope at Haley's Circus

Yesterday I took you on a guided excursion...please do not stray outside the tour!—of Gotham City's Crime Alley: you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. (On this planet.) And I took you through some of the history, legend, and comic book stories of Crime Alley, explaining its importance and significance to our bat-garbed crimefighter. But tonight we're going to walk on a slightly more...bizarre path, looking at a few, quite different (and very possibly non-canonical) adventures in Crime Alley, and we'll end up with the explanation of why not just Bruce Wayne, but also Dick Grayson, the first Robin, can never forget what night Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered. Y'all ready? Please do not dawdle at the back there!

There Is No Hope in Crime Alley, Hour 24

Batman is unpredictable. No one can anticipate or foreknow his movements, actions or location at any one time...except right now, this very minute. At 10:48 PM GST (Gotham Standard Time), on today, June 26, you will find the Batman at one particular, specific location: in Gotham City's Crime Alley. The criminal among you however should be advised that now is not a good time to ambush the Dark Knight, or lay in wait on the rooftops with your high-powered sniper rifle. Even tho' he's got something else on his mind at this exact moment, Batman ain't never not paying attention to his surroundings. And attacking him on this day, at this time, at this place, here in Crime Alley? That'll earn you an extra-rough Bat-whupping.

But why here and now? Tonight we'll walk in the bat-soled steps of Bruce Wayne and find out, as I've been telling you all night long (and also last year, altho' an internet problem on 6/26/12 kept me from wrapping up that series as I'm doing tonight), that there is no hope in Crime Alley. Or...is there? So, let's begin our journey. Say, where's a good place to start, Batman?:


Panel from the Batman newspaper comic strip (November 27, 1989), art by Marshall Rogers

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 23

Panels from "Batman Trivia Quiz" in Batman #260 (January-February 1975), creators unknown

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 22

Two-page spread from Batman: Noël graphic novel (November 2011); script, pencils, and inks by Lee Bermejo; colors by Barbara Ciardo; letters by Todd Klein

(Click picture to Bamm-Bamm Rubble-size)

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 21

Panels from "Citizen Wayne" in The Batman Chronicles #21 (Summer 2000), script by Brian Michael Bendis, pencils and inks by Michael Gaydos, colors by Patricia Mulvihill, letters by Janice Chiang

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 20

Panels from Batman: Madness one-shot (1994), script by Jeph Loeb, pencils and inks by Tim Sale, colors by Gregory Wright with Android Images Enhancements, letters by Todd Klein

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 19

Page from World's Finest Comics #321 (November 1985), script by Joey Cavalieri, pencils by Jose Delbo, inks by Alfredo Alcala, colors by Nansi Hoolahan, letters by Duncan Andrews

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 18

Panels from Justice League Unlimited #37 (November 2007), script by Matt Wayne, pencils by Min S. Ku, inks by Jeff Albrecht, colors by "Heroic Age," letters by Mike Sellers

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 177: There Is No Hope That John Byrne Will Draw More Than One Issue of This Miniseries

House ad for The Untold Legend of the Batman (top) #1 and (bottom) 2-3 (July-September 1980);
printed in Batman #324 & 325 (June & July 1980)

Comic cover art: #1: pencils and inks on #1 by José Luis Garcia-López, inks on #2-3 by Dick Giordano; inset art on top ad: pencils by John Byrne, inks by Dick Giordano

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 17

Panels from "To Kill a Legend" in Detective Comics #500 (March 1981), script by Alan Brennert, pencils and inks by Dick Giordano, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by John Costanza

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 16

from Detective Comics #600 (DC, May 1989), script by Sam Hamm, pencils by Denys Cowan, inks by Dick Giordano and Frank McLaughlin, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Todd Klein

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 15

Panel from World's Finest Comics #285 (November 1982), script by Cary Burkett, layouts by Rich Buckler, finishes by Sam de la Rosa, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Todd Klein

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 14

Panels from Batman: War on Crime graphic novel (November 1999), story and text by Paul Dini; story and painted art by Alex Ross

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 13

Panels from Batman: The Dark Knight (volume 3, second 2011 series*) #12 (October 2012), script by Gregg Hurwitz, pencils and inks by David Finch, colors by Sonia Oback, letters by Carlos M. Mangual

*Yes, it's come to that to try and describe New 52 titles.

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 12

Panels from Batman: No Man's Land #0 (December 1999), script by Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Greg Rucka, pencils by Greg Land, inks by Drew Geraci, colors by Rob Schwager, letters by Willie Schubert

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 11

Panels from Batman: Book of the Dead #1 (June 1999), script by Doug Moench, pencils by6 Barry Kitson, inks by Ray McCarthy, colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Kurt Hathaway

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 10

Panels from Batman #430 (February 1989), script by Jim Starlin, pencils by Jim Aparo, inks by Mike DeCarlo, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by John Costanza

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 9

Panels from "The Man Who Radiated Fear!" in Batman #200 (March 1968), script by Mike Friedrich, pencils by Chic Stone, inks by Joe Giella, letters by Gaspar Saladino

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 8

Panels from Detective Comics (1937 series) #0 (October 1994), script by Chuck Dixon, pencils by Graham Nolan, inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by John Costanza

There Is No Hope In Crime Alley, Hour 7

Panels from Spider-Man and Batman one-shot (September 1995), script by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Mark Bagley, inks by Scott Hanna and Mark Farmer, colors by "Electric Crayon," letters by Richard Starkings