The Batman anthology series was notably hit and miss in it’s stories. That’s to be expected when you have a rotating series of writers and artists. Some of the better storylines were Grant Morrison’s Gothic, Matt Wagner’s Faces and Bryan Talbot’s Mask. Talbot, who’s best known for his Luthor Arkwright books and his series The Tale of One Bad Rat, creates a wonderful story about what makes Bruce Wayne Batman and especially what doesn’t make anyone else Batman. So, let’s take a peek under the Mask.

After capturing a criminal, Bruce Wayne wakes up in a mental hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses. They are working to help him fight his delusion that he is a superhero who fights crime. They show him his costume made of garbage bags and Bruce starts wondering if he is Batman, deluded into thinking he’s crazy or Bruce Wayne, deluded into thinking he’s Batman. It’s a wonderful and exciting beginning to a story that doesn’t end as well as it begins. But the basic concept and the first half of the story is one of the better Batman concepts I’ve read.

Unfortunately, the collection which has the story is out of print now. But if you can find it, then I highly recommend it (despite the poor ending).