DC Finest: Batman: Blind Justice

DC Finest - Batman #1989

by Sam Hamm, Alan Grant, Denys B. Cowan (Illustrator)

Collects:
Batman #430-435, Annual #13
Detective Comics #596–603, Annual #2
Secret Origins #36 & #39

Genres: Comics, Batman, Dc Comics, Fiction

592 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2026

About the author

Sam Hamm is an American screenwriter, perhaps best known for writing the screenplay for Tim Burton's Batman and an unused screenplay for the sequel. As a result of his work, he was invited to write for the Batman comic. The result was Batman: Blind Justice, which introduced Bruce Wayne's mentor, Henri Ducard, who later appeared in Batman Begins. Hamm's other screen credits include Never Cry Wolf and Monkeybone. He also wrote unused drafts for Planet of the Apes and Watchmen adaptations.

Reviews

[Gary Sassaman]

This DC Finest Batman volume is all about extended story arcs and it has a very shortened timeline, just January 1989 through August of that year, featuring Batman 430-435 and Annual 13, Detective Comics 596-603 and Annual 2, and Bat-related stories from Secret Origins 36 and 39 (featuring Poison Ivy and Man-Bat). This was the year Detective Comics reached issue 600 and that four-issue run is the title of the book, the “Blind Justice” storyline by writer Sam Hamm and artist Denys Cowan. Both annual stories are also extended ones, and the book wraps up with two 3-part stories, “The Many Deaths of the Batman,” one of the very few (maybe only?) Batman stories written by John Byrne (the first part of this story—from Batman 433—is entirely word- and caption-less and features stunning art by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo), and “Tulpa” from Detective Comics 601 through 503 by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. I think DC was still reacting to the success of Batman: Year One and it’s mini-series within a regular series format. The “Many Deaths” story features cover trade dress similar to the “Ten Nights of the Beast” story arc from 1988. I enjoyed all of these stories, although the art is a bit rough in some of them. This was a great time for Batman; the writers and artists—for the most part—were clicking along and the character was enjoying heightened awareness due to the Tim Burton movie which came out in June 1989. DC Finest does numerous Batman volumes each year (there’s two more coming out by year’s end) and it’s easy to see why: The era it’s primarily focused on right now is a great one.

[Brent · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Blind Justice arc just goes on foreveeeeeeer

[Neb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Late 80's Batman is a very specific thing from a very specific period of time. Maybe it's not for everyone, but I love it.