That said, the third installment of DARK DETECTIVE continues the groundbreaking exploration of Bruce Wayne as the Batman. Picking up from the end of DDII, he finally realizes that he can never have Silver St. Cloud. Then, his ancient nemesis, Dala the vampire, begs him to put her out of her misery, even though it was destroying her in his earliest days that led him to swear never to kill again. And so we see what happens to a hero when what's good and right and proper, for him and for humanity, runs up against his inflexible code of conduct.

He expects to divert himself from these conundra by plunging into a mysterious plot in London, involving Killer Moth, Deadshot, and an unknown mastermind, but finds that (to coin a phrase) no matter where you go, there you are. The vampire and the great love of his life will not leave him alone.

...and back in Gotham, the great love herself tries in her own way to nurse Evan Gregory through his election as governor and then get on with her life. But Evan Gregory, well...

As it turned out, this run and its predecessor, DARK DETECTIVE II, became the basis for The Dark Knight film, which came as a complete surprise to me.

I read all six of your "Dark Detective 3" scripts/pdfs back to back; it was like the proverbial book one can't put down. I really admire the way you continue to explore new ground with these characters.

DD 3 is like a hall of mirrors, with Batman confronting distorted reflections of himself. Deadshot initially tried to be a Batman-like crimefighter, and Killer Moth sought to be Batman's criminal counterpart. And Dala the vampiress seems like the embodiment of Batman's own conflicted feelings towards women in the wake of his breakup with Silver.

I very much liked the theme of reason versus passion, with Batman using his commitment to reason, represented by his crimefighting mission, to try to suppress his feelings for Silver, and even to convince himself he is incapable of love.

And then there are the grace notes that other Batman writers never do. Of course Bruce Wayne knows nothing about movies; when would he ever go? And for once the villain leaves clues that are actually hard to solve!

Marshall had drawn most of issue #1 at the time of his death. He never knew they'd adapted us again.

Visit Marshall Rogers' agent, Spencer Beck, for all your Marshall Rogers needs.