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The earliest days of the Dark Knight’s career are set to be revisited as previously unknown mysteries come to light in a new year-long miniseries from DC launching in December from the creative team of Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman, going by the title Batman: Dark Patterns.

According to DC, the 12-issue series will see Bruce Wayne as he begins his career as Gotham’s guardian, investigating four separate cases that will “cement his place as Gotham City’s protector while the city itself fights back against him.” The series is structured so that each case will be told as a three-issue storyline inside the larger series, with the first titled ‘We Are Wounded.’

“I love the strangeness of Batman. A man dressed as a huge, gothic bat, solving crimes in a hostile city of black magicians, mad scientists, and superstitious, cowardly criminals. I’ve always wanted to write a series of mystery stories that would home in on that aspect of the character — a dweller in the shadows of Gotham’s towering, delipidated spires,” Watters said in a statement provided by DC. “After watching The Batman, this desire was reaffirmed. Batman: Dark Patterns explores the pulpiest part of the Dark Knight's rich history and gives readers an entirely new perspective on the early years of DC’s Dark Detective.”

Watters is no stranger to Gotham; he’s been a regular on the back-up stories appearing during Ram V’s critically-acclaimed Detective Comics run for the last few years, and was also responsible for writing the Arkham City: The Order of the World and Sword of Azrael miniseries. (As of November, he’s also becoming the ongoing writer of DC’s Nightwing series, setting up shop in Gotham’s neighbor, Bludhaven.)

Sherman, meanwhile, is about to begin one of his highest-profile gigs yet, as the ongoing artist on Absolute Wonder Woman with writer Kelly Thompson; this new series does not mean that he’s leaving that title; instead, fans can enjoy a double dose of Sherman for the next year.

The first issue of Batman: Dark Patterns will feature colors from Triona Farrell and lettering from Frank Cvetkovic, with covers from Sherman and also Stevan Subic. Check out the gallery below for those covers, as well as interior artwork from the first issue.

Batman: Dark Patterns #1 will be released December 11.

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