The Outsider Challenges Batman In Jiro Kuwata’s ‘Bat-Manga’ #31 [Preview]

One of the most fun things about reading Jiro Kuwata's Bat-Manga is seeing all the changes that Kuwata made when he adapted stories that were originally published in the American Batman comics. Sometimes, they're taken to a more elaborate extreme, like the now-legendary Lord Death Man story, and sometimes they're almost completely rewritten, like Kuwata's take on Batman's battle with the pro-wrestling Hooded Hangman, but if you're a die-hard fan of the Caped Crusader, there's always enough in there to be amazing.

That's why I'm so stoked about the next story, in which Batman faces the hulking, disfigured form of The Outsider -- better known as his once-faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth! Check out preview pages below, and get excited, it's gonna be a good one.

The original version of the story ran in 1964's Detective Comics #328, and over the course of several months involved Alfred's seeming death and terrifying resurrection as a super-powered crime boss. I've always had a particular affection for it, since the very first comic that I ever read -- DC Comics Presents #83 -- was a sequel to this story.

Kuwata's version kicks off in Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Bat-Manga chapter 31, available digitally this Saturday at Comixology.