"This Issue: Batman Dies!!!" is a loose thematic story arc/crossover that took place across most of the Batman-related titles in February 2001. Looking to add some levity to the books before diving into the serious upcoming crossover Officer Down, the writers decided to play on the old Silver Age shock tactic of advertising the death of a main character on the cover. Every issue that month featured some iteration of Batman dieing in a different comical, often absurd fashion.
It was more of a thematic crossover event than a narrative one, as the stories were mostly unconnected and could be read in any order.
Initially Batman: Gotham Knights #12 was intended to take part in the event, and a story was solicited written by Devin Grayson about the villain Mr. Zsasz. However, before publication, it was deemed "a little too gory for an all ages book", and an unrelated inventory story was published instead.
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