'Harley Quinn' and 'Poison Ivy' by Erica Henderson. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Andrew Firestone

He’s The Dark Knight, a true, blue American fable. And right now, at Hub Comics, he’s taking on Somerville.

Or perhaps it is the other way around.

This month at Hub Comics get your chance to see original artwork of the Caped Crusader drawn by local artists, including Arthur Miller, Andrew Houle, and Josh Morrissett. With hundreds of different interpretations for the classic character of the paneled page, you’re sure to see something you haven’t thought of before.

“He’s a character that’s been around for 70 years and there have been a lot of different iterations,” said Jesse Farrell, who mans the control deck at the Bow Street comic emporium. “I think there is something about him, because he’s human, he seems somehow more realistic and I think people tap into that.”

'Clayface' by Andrew Houle. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

Batman’s “real” phase began in 1986, when comics writers Frank Miller and Alan Moore provided their take on the DC comics staple with their works “The Dark Knight Returns” and “The Killing Joke” respectively. The two works generated a fervor for the superhero, which remains to this day.

Moore, to his credit, said that while the story may raise some ethical issues, the never ending battle between the Joker and Batman remains one that should stay on the comic page. “At the end of the day that’s all they are, fictional characters,” he said. “They’re not even fictional characters that have any bearing on anyone you’re likely to meet in reality.”

Farrell, who loves Alan Moore’s work, remarked that realism is not always good for comics, and depends on the artist making it. “Sometimes they’re good at it, sometimes they’re not,” he said.

Brian K. Vaughan, writer of television series Lost and author of more than a few Batman issues, says he has found controversy in realism and superheroes and now tries to avoid mixing the two. “But superheroes do work really well as metaphors when you have something to say about the world,” he said.

The art show will remain up until the end of January at the Hub Comics store in Union Square.