Batman and the Mad Monk #3 - DC

This is a series written and drawn by Matt Wagner. This story, the setting and style, is just perfect for his delivery. Batman is scouring Gotham trying to figure out who this new madman is. All he really knows is that he calls himself the Monk. He working his way through Gotham killing young women, in very ritualistic fashion, and he's come across his crew that he uses for disposal. They call themselves the Brotherhood. He tries to work his way through the bunch to find someone to give him some answers. The only problem is, they are more afraid of the Monk than of Batman. Now at the same time, Bruce's current love interest, Julie Madison, has delivered herself right into the lap of the Monk. She having some trouble with her father, a self made man, one of Gotham's business leaders, and a very rich man with whom she is the only heir. So anyways, preying on her insecurities, the Monk has sent his right hand man, woman, Dala to seek her out, and try to find a way in. Well that's not to hard when your whole life is filled with worrying about the welfare of your father. Dala listens when Julie needs it, and the suggests that her boyfriend, Niccolai, who is really the Monk, is a person who "is a private counselor to some of the country's most influential men." They talk her into coming to their estate for a "meet and greet". But really it's an excuse for Niccolai to sink his teeth into her, literally. It appears that the Monk is some sort of vampire, and his "feedings" serve to strengthen both his followers, and his hold over them. Later, when Bruce and Julie are going out on a date, she takes off her wrap and he notices the 2 puncture wounds on her neck. It seems that in order to find the Monk, he has to look no further than his other pillow. Like I said, this is the perfect story for Matt. He writes this genre impeccably, and his artistic style is perfect for the story. Not to mention we get to see the Batman in his early days, when he was still trying to figure everything out, and was more pomp that circumstance.