Gary Phillips

Los Angeles, August 1965. Anger and pent-up frustrations boil over in the Watts neighborhood after a traffic stop of two Black motorists. As the Watts riots explode, crime photographer Harry Ingram snaps photos at the scene, including images of the police as they unleash batons, dogs, and water hoses on civilians. When he captures the image of an unarmed activist being shot down by the cops, he winds up in the hospital, beaten, his camera missing. Proof of the unjust killing seems lost - until Ingram''s girlfriend, Anita Claire, retrieves the hidden film in a daring rescue. The photo makes front-page news. A recuperating Ingram is approached by Betty Payton, a comrade of Anita''s mother, who wants Ingram''s help tracking down her business associate Moses ''Mose'' Tolbert, last seen during the riots. Ingram follows the investigation down a rabbit hole of burglary rings, bank robberies, looted cash, and clandestine agendas-all the while grappling with his newfound fame, which puts him in the sightlines of LAPD''s secretive intelligence division. Ash Dark as Night is a nail-biting ride-along through midcentury Los Angeles with a crime fiction legend in the driver''s seat.

Adapting what may be the most popular of graphic novels, by the edgy Hard Case Crime author, adding layers and exploring the nature of morality. Faced with overwhelming poverty and a pregnant wife, a tragic, struggling comedian is forced to turn to crime. In his first heist, he is immersed in toxic chemicals that disfigure him bizarrely, driving him mad and thus giving birth to The Joker. For years, the Clown Prince of Crime has been caught in a dance of violence with his greatest nemesis, the Batman. Escaping Arkham Asylum, he plots his most lethal caper. This will be the ultimate punch line... his KILLING JOKE. In their mission to protect Gotham City, Batman and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) pursue ruthless criminals such as the grandiose Maxie Zeus and Antonio "Python" Palmares. Simultaneously, Commissioner James Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock take on a cartel distributing the latest designer drug--"giggle sniff," derived from a venom created by The Joker. This rapid-fire sequence of events spirals together to threaten Batman's closest friends and allies, and locks the two eternal foes in their ultimate death match. Copyright (c) 2017 DC Comics. BATMAN, THE JOKER, THE KILLING JOKE and all related characters and elements (c) & TM DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.