The Dark Knight: Batman and the Flock of Fear

By Matthew K. Manning and Luciano Vecchio

After being released from ARKHAM ASYLUM, the DARK KNIGHT’S most frightful foe, the SCARECROW, sets out to cure his one and only fear - birds! With a new and improved fear toxin, he’s going after ROBIN, BATMAN’S powerful partner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Jun 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781434265791

Matthew K. Manning

The author of the Amazon best-selling hardcover Batman: A Visual History, Matthew K. Manning has contributed to many comic books, including Beware the Batman, Spider-Man Unlimited, Pirates of the Caribbean: Six Sea Shanties, Justice League Adventures, Looney Tunes, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? When not writing comics themselves, Manning often authors books about comics, as well as a series of young reader books starring Superman, Batman, and the Flash for Capstone. He currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife Dorothy and their two daughters, Lillian and Gwendolyn. Visit him online at www.matthewkmanning.com.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

THE CROW

Jonathan Crane couldn’t run fast enough. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to pick up his pace. It was almost like he was wading through deep water. His legs wouldn’t do what his brain told them to do.

Behind him, Jonathan heard the caws of the crows. He looked over his shoulder. There were hundreds of them. They were as black as shadows. Their wings flapped violently.

The birds’ sharp beaks glistened in the moonlight. Their jet black eyes were staring right at him. That was when Jonathan felt his foot catch on a rock on the cliff side.

THUDDDDD!

Jonathan fell to the ground. The crows would surely catch up to him now. He could see the swirling mass of birds flying closer and closer still. His heart pounded in his chest. The birds’ wings flapped loudly in the air.

But the noise wasn’t quite right. Crow wings didn’t sound like that. Jonathan squinted at the approaching birds. And that was when he realized it.

They weren’t crows at all. The mass of fluttering, flying beasts was actually a cloud of bats.

Jonathan got to his feet. The situation was worse than he thought. He stood up tall and looked down at his legs. They were skinny. He had always been a bit gangly. The kids in his high school had mocked him for his appearance. Even one of his college professors had made fun of him for his resemblance to a common scarecrow.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. The bats were almost upon him. But he wasn’t a helpless little boy any longer. He was a full-grown man. He would fight the creatures off. He wouldn’t let them win.

There was a broom resting at his feet. Had this been what had tripped him? No, he thought. That was a rock. He had tripped on a rock. Hadn’t he? Everything seemed so confusing now.

Jonathan saw that the broom was there, so he decided to pick it up and use it.

The first of the bats swooped down toward him. Jonathan Crane raised the broom and swung with all his might.

WOOOOOOOOSH!

The bat dodged his attack while another nipped at his ear from behind. Jonathan