Batman: The Ultimate Evil themes concerning child sexual abuse and explored the topic of child sex tourism. The publisher required Vachss to follow certain rules, like making a clear distinction between fiction and reality and prohibiting the Batman character from killing, cursing, or having sex. In the story, billionaire Bruce Wayne, who as a child witnessed the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha, encounters the social worker Debra Kane, who takes Wayne to check up on her clients: he sees clear cases of child abuse and brave but futile resistance to it. Wayne's loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth, gives him the secret files from
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Mignola, Bill Willingham, Matt Wagner and Marshall Rogers. In 2012, DC Comics revived the series as "Legends of the Dark Knight", a digital-first weekly series. The series is similarly self-contained stories with revolving creative teams. The first issue "The Butler Did It" by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire debuted in June 2012. The original series was published from 1989 to 2007, as "Legends of the Dark Knight" for issues #1–36 and "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight" for issues #37–214. Seven "Annual"s were also published. Three one-issue Halloween specials, "Fears", "Madness" and "Ghosts", a fourth one-issue special based on the