Batman (Vol. 1) 686 Original 3rd Printing Variant Cover Art (also Wizard Magazine 208 cover) - Batman #1 Homage!!!

Batman (Vol. 1) #686 Cover Original Art (April 2009). This is part 1 of "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader: The Beginning of the End" (part 2 is in Detective 853). This was the first issue post the "R.I.P." and "Final Crisis" arcs where Batman was apparently killed (we all know how well that works in the comics world!). The events of this issue are not considered canon in the current DC Universe continuity but rather an indeterminate amalgamation of the entirety of Batman's 70-year (at the time) history. The 2-story arc is honestly a bit strange and feels out of place, but it does serve as a cool look at the history of the Dark Knight with a bit of a surreal / dream state from the perspective of Bruce. This is the first issue post Alex Ross's legendary cover run on the title, though he did provide a great variant for this issue. Andy Kubert provided the main cover art as well as this fairly rare 3rd printing variant (I don't know what the ratio was, but they didn't seem to print many of this version). The cover is an amazing modern homage to the iconic first Batman cover, and Andy's style is instantly recognizable. The cover was also used as one of 2 covers for Wizard Magazine 208. I have attached images of both. Art is accomplished in ink over graphite, on 11" X 17" art board. Signed in the lower left corner, with homage credit "After Bob Kane!".