Looking back at Batman, Bane in comic books

Tom Hardy’s villainous Bane is a key component of the film “The Dark Knight Rises,” out in theaters today.

Bane was created by writers Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench and artist Graham Nolan. He made his first appearance in “Batman: Vengeance of Bane” in January 1993, and was the main antagonist of the “Knightfall” storyline that ran from April to October 1993 in “Batman” and “Detective Comics.”

“Knightfall,” which ran through “Batman” issues 492 through 500 and “Detective Comics” issues 659 through 666, is available in collected edition form from DC Comics.

In the comics, Bane has escaped from an island prison, and uses a drug called “Venom” to increase his strength to superhuman levels. Aiming to test himself against the best in the world, he heads to Gotham City to prove himself against the Batman.

DC Entertainment co-publisher Dan DiDio recommended some other titles for Bat-fans in a recent interview with The Oklahoman.

“We have a lot of great books that have come out, that really capture Batman and his essence,” DiDio said. “We have The ‘Batman vs. Bane’ book that’s out there running right now, which I think is a great introduction to those characters.”

“Batman vs. Bane” collects Bane’s first appearance in “Vengeance of Bane,” plus two additional Bane one-shots and the miniseries “Bane of the Demon.” While Batman and Bane don’t exactly face off head-to-head in this collection (see the “Knightfall” books for that), it does give readers back story of the superstrong antagonist.

Other recommendations from DiDio include:

“Batman: Earth One, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank … is an original telling of the early days of Batman, which I think, done by a team like that, it’s a can’t miss book,” DiDio said.