BIRDS OF PREY

Birds of Prey is a groundbreaking comic book series that took the industry by storm when it first appeared in 1995. Editor Jordan B. Gorfinkel's idea of teaming up two characters who, in the past, had been frequently considered second-rate, and giving them previously unexamined depth, was revolutionary. Exploring what it means to be a superhero and a woman -- one is a woman of experience and a widow, the other a former costumed superhero disabled in the line of duty -- Birds of Prey struck a nerve with comics' fanbase. All this while delivering superhero action that was second-to-none, with art by some of the industry's most popular creators. It later became a television series for which Gorfinkel wrote the show bible.

BATMAN: DARK TOMORROW

Scott Peterson's BATMAN: DARK TOMORROW was the first videogame based on the Batman comic books and the first with a storyline by a professional comic book writer. Batman: Dark Tomorrow received outstanding reviews for its innovative story and pleased long-time fans with its adherence to comic book continuity.

NO MAN'S LAND

NO MAN'S LAND was perhaps the largest, most complex and most creatively successful crossover in comic book history. The brainstorm of Jordan B. Gorfinkel, BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND was a mammoth story which ran through every Batman-related comic book for a year, involving hundreds of comics and dozens of creators from around the world. The storyline concerned the near-destruction of Gotham City, whereupon it was cut off from the United States mainland both politically and physically. Left behind was only a small group of citizens too poor, frail or stubborn to leave, and an enormous number of the world's most dangerous criminals, free from the law. The Batman and his allies, aided by the tiny fraction of Gotham's police force which decided to stay, battled to take back the city. With glowing reviews in the comics press as well as more mainstream publications such as People magazine, No Man's Land remains a highwater mark in the history of the Batman.

THE BATMAN ADVENTURES

A milestone in the history of comic books, THE BATMAN ADVENTURES was the first mainstream superhero comic specifically designed to be accessible to younger readers while still appealing to older fans. Based on the wildly popular animated show, THE BATMAN ADVENTURES quickly became one of the industry's most acclaimed titles by featuring self-contained stories (an anomaly at that point in the industry's history. With a superficially basic story, the creators were able to tell more complex character-driven tales than was possible in the more mainstream titles. The Adventures line went on to spawn an entire genre in its wake, with imitators being created by every other mainstream publisher in the industry. The popularity of the BATMAN ADVENTURES line is evidenced by the fact that, in its various incarnations (including BATMAN AND ROBIN ADVENTURES and BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES) it has outlived (by nearly a decade) the animated series that it was created to imitate.

BATGIRL

When the Joker shot and crippled Batgirl, comics lost one of its most beloved heroes. A dozen years later, Scott Peterson and Darren Vincenzo, working with writer Kelley Puckett, created a new Batgirl.   Introduced during No Man's Land, the new Batgirl is one of the two or three greatest martial artists in the world--possibly even better than the Batman himself. As part of Batman's circle of allies, she tries to do right, despite being a troubled teen who was raised by the world's deadliest assassin.

GREEN ARROW

For decades GREEN ARROW has alternated between being one of Comics' most provocative, groundbreaking characters and a third-rate also-ran. When Darren Vincenzo and Scott Peterson took charge of the Character, he was at one of his lower points. They instituted a new creative team and created Connor Hawke, the illegitimate son of the original Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), a son Oliver never even knew he had. Eventually Connor became the new Green Arrow--and quickly became a fan favorite, revitalizing the series, and eventually drawing the participation of filmmaker Kevin Smith in a relaunching of the series.