Batman 300 and up (reviews by shaxper)

[shaxper]

Detective Comics #524

"Deathgrip"
writer: Gerry Conway
art: Don Newton and Dick Giordano

Grade: A

Arguably, Conway's tightest story yet. Batman escapes from the overly elaborate squid trap that The Squid has placed him in (and, though you think his escape will go unexplained, it's tactfully revealed much later on in the story), and the shadowy Croc, who has been quietly evaluating The Squid from the sidelines, seems to be the only one to witness and understand it. As he decides to walk out, The Squid confronts him, only to knock his hat off, giving us our first glimpse of Croc -- an actual reptillian face! The Squid cowers back, and Croc leaves, even going so far as to notice the Batman watching him and not caring. Conway is crafting the Croc into one heck of a bad-ass. Interestingly, he bears absolutely no resemblance to the Killer Croc I know from post-crisis continuity.

The story shifts to a party being hosted by Dick in honor of The Flying Todds. It's really odd to see Dick wearing a leisure suit in 1983, and it's frustrating to have both Joseph and Trina Todd talk while Jason once again remains speechless and difficult to glimpse (Conway's playing Jason close to his chest), but the next plot development, in which Trina walks in to find Alfred and Dick nursing an unmasked Batman, was damn exciting.

When we return to The Squid, his failure with the Batman and his recoiling in the face of Croc have knocked him down many pegs in our estimation. He's hardly the crime lord he was just last issue. As we're watching him command his men with a new, more critical set of eyes, the menacing Croc sets up to assassinate The Squid in parallel. The art contrast is phenomenal here, as The angles, coloring, and shadowing contrast between the two men speaks volumes about which is a more serious contender as crime boss of Gotham.

It's therefore astonishing when Croc narrowly misses hitting The Squid! Squid ducks just in time, only to have Batman enter, the two fight one on one, and Squid kick his butt, ultimately pulling a gun and killing Batman at the climax! The narration is intense, vague, and utterly poetic. We're not entirely sure how this is happening, and The Squid seems equally surprised to see this occuring.

Then Conway gives us this brilliant narrative moment:

Squid: It's over, Batman...all over.

Narration: The words echo ironically in his mind. Suddenly, darkness closes in, and he knows.

Squid: Wait. Wait.

Squid: It's not fair. I'm not finished.

Squid: I'm not...

[The scene then cuts to The Squid, lying dead on the floor where Croc had shot at him.]

Narration: The gunshot seems oddly far away, but the sound of a bullet hitting flesh, and the impact of a body against a cold marble floor, is very close.

Croc (from on the roof): One clean shot. Like I said--

Croc: --Nobody threatens Croc. Good-bye, Fatboy.


Wow. Narrative trickery at it's best.

[Captain Jim]

Interestingly, he bears absolutely no resemblance to the Killer Croc I know from post-crisis continuity.

I absolutely loved the original Croc. Too bad later creators went on to ruin him (especially Loeb & Lee).

[shaxper]

Batman #358

(Untitled)
writer: Gerry Conway
art: Curt Swan and Rodin Rodriguez

Grade: B

The loss of Newton and Alcala (just for this issue) is sorely felt in this story. Swan's art feels thoroughly throw-back, and he is often unable to keep up with the characterization and momentum of the storyline through his penciling. Some action is thoroughly unclear, especially when Commissioner Gordon appears to be talking to Batman directly and then misses him sneaking off, as usual. He was looking right at him!

Swan's presence is even more disappointing here as this is the big issue where we finally get a good glimpse at Croc without his disguise -- and it looks downright silly. Oh well.

Conway still tells a good story here, over all, but he runs into two problems that both bothered me quite a bit:

1. He still writes all villains as generic thugs. The dialogue is stilted, the motivation is non-existent, and the battles are therefore nothing more than extraneous action. Considering that Batman fights random bad guys twice in this issue, it really gets old fast.

2. He seems to lose track of who Croc is in this issue. The cold, calculating, brilliant machiavelian of the previous issues who seemed to know when to wait and when to move turns into a stooge of the masterminds of the criminal underworld, doing their bidding all while threatening to kill them if they cross him (you know this is inevitably coming) and, above all else, turning into a thoroughly angry, thoughtless villain who makes such idle threats and strikes out with clumsy rage at the Batman. Once the mysterious coat and hat come off, so does Croc's style and technique. He's just an angry dude who looks like a crocodile. Jim, you said that you loved the early Croc and hated how later writers ruined him, but I wonder if Conway didn't start that transition right here in this issue. I sincerely hope the Croc of previous issues will come back. This Croc is downright boring -- a generic, flavor of the month, villain.

One final touch that I did enjoy about this issue is a darker, more brutal side to Batman. Upon taking down a group of bad guys who are firing weapons at him, one low-life starts going on about how it's not his fault that some dumb house wife got caught in the cross fire of his last job and died. As he continues to explain how she was a no one and her life didn't matter, Batman ducks behind him, causing another criminal to shoot the guy dead.

In another example, Batman and Robin drag a villain back to the cave and intimidate the living daylights out of him, causing the man to confess everything. They explain that he gets no due process because they aren't police, and this isn't an arrest -- they're just having a friendly "chat between friends." They go on to remind him that there's no one around to serve as a witness before he breaks down and confesses. Later, Bruce practically boasts, "I've said it before, I'll say it again: Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot...specs terrorized himself. I never even threatened him."

It's a whole new Batman; not a hero I can totally get behind, but a logical extension of who Batman is, what Batman does, and why Batman does it. I really respected that. He's not a police officer, and he doesn't follow their rules. He's a vigilante outside the law that walks a gray line of law and morality; the extreme wild card that's needed to reign in Gotham's rampant crime.

Oh, the plot in one ridiculously long sentence: Croc barges in on the tobacconists' club, demanding to be made crime boss, Batman gets a lead on who killed The Squid, tracing the bullet to the man who sold the murderer the gun, so he takes down the seller and his thugs, drags the seller back to the cave and gets him to confess he sold the gun to Croc, and has a brief heart to heart with Dick in which they debate over whether or not people can be trusted (especially Trina Todd, who now knows Bruce is Batman), all while Croc starts performing tests for Gotham's criminal masterminds to prove his worth, starting with stealing a government super computer, and the Batman tracks down Croc's hideout, getting into a fight with a random gang on the way, and ultimately battling it out with Croc, himself, but losing Croc at the last moment.

All in all, a good story, but not without its problems.

[Cei-U!]

R. C. Harvey, in his masterful The Art of the Comic Book, uses several of Swan's pages from Batman #358 to illustrate the dramatic subtleties of Curt's storytelling. I'm not saying your assessment is wrong, shax, but I encourage you to track down a copy of Harvey's book (which I can't recommend highly enough) and see if he doesn't tempt you to reevaluate your opinion.

Cei-U!
I summon an alternate POV!

[shaxper]

R. C. Harvey, in his masterful The Art of the Comic Book, uses several of Swan's pages from Batman #358 to illustrate the dramatic subtleties of Curt's storytelling. I'm not saying your assessment is wrong, shax, but I encourage you to track down a copy of Harvey's book (which I can't recommend highly enough) and see if he doesn't tempt you to reevaluate your opinion.

Cei-U!
I summon an alternate POV!

Intriguing. I may just have to do that.

I'm not really knocking Swan as an artist, mind you. I relish his Silver Age work on Superman with great affection. It just doesn't seem able to keep up with Conway's writing; a very different sense of tone and pacing.

[shaxper]

Detective Comics #525

"Confrontation"
writer: Gerry Conway
art: Dan Jurgens and Dick Giordano

Grade: A-


While this story provides another chapter in the Killer Croc saga, it's real purpose seems to be delving deeper into Bruce's psyche. This is a deeply psychological issue, in which Bruce further explores his desire to detach from others ever since Selina Kyle resurfaced, and he then takes that desire one step further, beginning to doubt and detach from himself.

After failing to find any trace of Croc (he escaped from Batman last issue), Bruce takes Vicki Vale out on a date. She easily detects that the flippant playboy bit is an act and asks Bruce why he's putting it on. The art and writing almost lead you to believe he's really going to tell her -- or at least indicate that he has another secret life that he isn't prepared to tell her about, but Conway throws us a curve ball. Instead, he confesses that he can't stop thinking about Selina Kyle. Just when both you and Vicki think you know where that's going, we get another curve ball. He talks about how Selina made him realize that he never wants to be needed that desperately by anyone again. As he proceeds to trivialize his relationship with Vicki, calling it "uncomplicated" and praising Vicki for not making any demands on him, Vicki tells him off and leaves.

Then, FINALLY, we get our first real glimpse of Jason Todd, as the wide eyed young aerialist performs in front of a captivated audience, only to casually look up and notice that Robin is watching from the top of the tent. It's a very cool moment.

We cut back to Bruce, standing by the water, no doubt reflecting upon his actions with Vicki. While lost in thought, he suddenly realizes that he subconsciously saw Croc lurking in the shadows while looking for him earlier that day. Somehow, for some reason, he let Croc go. This leads to tremendous self-doubt as Batman obsesses over why he might have subconsciously allowed himself to ignore Croc's presence.

Back at the circus, Robin is talking with the Todd family. Jason finally gets to talk with him and wastes no time in asking "What's Wonder Girl really like?" An absolutely endearing question, and also a subtle reminder that Dick's primary allegiance is to the Titans these days. With this clear reminder, as well as with a number of parallels that have carefully been drawn between Dick and Jason over the past few issues, it's clear that Conway is carefully crafting a purpose and role for Jason. I wonder how obvious this was to readers at the time. It all strikes an extra exciting/intriguing tone when Robin gets the Todds to agree to help him bust the extortion ring moving in on their circus, promising that they won't regret it, and instantly feeling a chill as he says it. Trina Todd looks at him, feeling it too.

Back in the sewers, Batman and Croc have another showdown. Though Bruce is struggling with Croc physically, he's more importantly struggling with himself mentally. Can he really trust himself not to let Croc go this time? Just as it seems he's done the opposite, he gets in a sleeper hold and pulls a desperate move to level the playing field, ultimately resulting in his escape. What seemed like a proper and action-packed reversal of fortunes at the time becomes another doubting question to Batman -- did he just run away?

All in all, an intriguing psychological set of developments for Bruce, and I'm absolutely eating up the Todds' subplot.

[shaxper]

Batman #359

"Hunt"
writer: Gerry Conway
art: Dan Jurgens and Dick Giordano

Grade: B-

It's now clear to me what Conway is up to. When Wein was writing this title, he peaked with the Catwoman/Catman storyline, did a few more lackluster issues, and then faded away. When Wolfman came in (briefly), his only goal seemed to be to get to The Lazarus Affair, at the culmination of which he bowed out, ending on a high note. Conway seems intent to end his long run on Batman in the same way, building up both Croc and Jason Todd since #357 and having both of their storylines climax this month in Detective #526, Batman's 500th appearance in that title, before handing both titles off to Doug Moench. Overall, I think Conway has the right idea. This has been an interesting and largely very well done story arc thus far, but this penultimate entry falls a tad bit flatter. Conway's going to have to do a lot better in the final chapter.

The problem here is Croc, himself. The once mysterious, clever, confident, and controlled criminal mastermind is now a reckless, foolish would-be underworld king who has crowds walk out on him in meetings and everyone around him write him off as "crazy." This Croc seems to have no plan other than to kill people who get in his way, but he never thinks ahead enough to get a witness or furnish himself with some kind of proof. No one knows for sure that he killed The Squid, or (in this issue) Tony Falco, and he makes the embarrassing rookie mistake of claiming to have killed Batman as well. He's just a wreck of a character at this point, even less in control than The Squid was, but it's not a tragic fall. It's as if the character was just completely rewritten by Conway as soon as his trench coat came off. At this point, you know he's cruising for a bruising, and I'd be amazed to see him surface as a serious threat to Batman again afterward. Too rational to be scary; too irrational to be dangerous.

Batman's odd psychological relationship to Croc isn't making any more sense in this issue, either. it's still absolutely not clear why Batman is intimidated by Croc and has allowed himself to avoid battling him on two occasions. This gets particularly annoying when Batman tries for a therapy session in the middle of one of their battles: "You spooked me, Croc. But now I'm going to lay that ghost to rest." Since when does Batman admit to criminals that HE's afraid of THEM? A lot of good that's going to do to his rep.

There are some illogical moments in this issue (I thought Conway was finally passed those) like when Batman breaks into the house of the most powerful puppet master in Gotham, intimidates him, and then drops him off at Gordan's house, bound and gagged. What were the charges? What's the crime? I'd think Batman's more likely to draw heat on himself for breaking into the house of such a powerful man and abusing him in such a way without any evidence of a crime being committed.

There were a few high points to this issue. For one, Croc's attack on Falco in prison is absolutely wild. The absurd amount of blood, the look in Croc's eyes, it was intense and exciting. Jurgens and Giordano aren't Newton and Alcala, but they do a nice job, over all.

Another nice touch was Batman and Gordan's discussion in the Batmobile as Gordan reveals Croc's history. I've criticized Conway numerous times (as recently as last issue) for making his villains too generic and uncomplicated/unsympathetic, but in these moments, Gordan expresses sympathy for the boy that Croc was (even without abundant evidence to suggest anything less than a monster), but Batman is unsympathetic and unwilling to see, which Gordan calls him out on. It was a nice touch. Very Wein of Conway.

Finally, just when you think you know what's going to happen with the Todd aerialist family as Croc's henchman goes back to the circus for a shake-up, Conway throws us a curve ball. The Todds pursue the lackie back to his hideout, all while Bruce berates Dick for worrying about them (""Scum like Killer Cros wouldn't be able to get a foothold in this town if a few more people were willing to take risks to stop him!...Your friends make a commitment, Richard. They'll fulfill their commitment--or to hell with them, and to hell with you!"). Powerful stuff, as Bruce is clearly psychologically falling apart. How will all this resonate when the Todds meet their final fate next issue? As of now, Croc has them captured, standing helpless in front of a room full of criminals.

By the way, the cover, in which Croc stands before Batman's most classic villains, proclaiming himself "Killer Croc" is entirely misleading. None of them are mentioned or make an appearance until next issue.

[shaxper]

Detective Comics #526

"All My Enemies Against Me"
writer: Gerry Conway
art: Don Newton and Alfredo Alcala

Grade: B+


Grand doesn't begin to describe it. This 56 page culmination to Conway's run on Batman is filled to the brim with good guys, villains, and dense plotting. Joker has teamed up most of Batman's classic villains (including most of Conway's creations and re-envisionings) to kill Batman and Killer Croc at the same time. Admittedly, the plan doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it makes for an exciting story.

While the villain team is forming, Bruce ends up aided by a squabbling Talia and Catwoman, while Robin teams up with Batgirl (who reveals that she has figured out his and Bruce's identities). Meanwhile, Jason Todd stumbles upon the Batcave, tries on one of Dick's old circus costumes, and ends up traveling along in the trunk of the Batmobile. Ultimately, the whole team ends up united against Croc, and the outcome is inevitable.

Unfortunately, we discover the final fate of Jason's parents shortly before the climax, leaving Dick in an impressive rage, and dampening the triumphant climax of the story, as Jason saves the day at the last moment, leaping onto Croc literally half a second after hearing that his parents are dead. It's an odd, odd moment, and I honestly can't decide whether it's delivered clumsily or with brilliant realism.

From a thematic perspective, Batman's having to work with two former lovers and keep both at a distance throughout, but ultimately ending by having to take Jason under his wing, is a logical conclusion to the trust issues he'd been battling for several months now. However, his whole subconscious issue with Croc never gets explained. It just gets forgotten in this issue. Wherever Conway was going with Gordan being stressed out and suddenly having medical issues gets ditched as well.

Art-wise, it's great to see Newton and Alcala back this issue (it certainly explains why they weren't working on the last few), but Newton still seems rushed in this issue, delivering some truly brilliant and iconic panels, but absolutely looking like they finished others entirely too quickly. This surfaces in Batman's chest emblem rapidly changing in size from one panel to the next, and in instances like when Jason leaps from one roof top to the next, unsure of whether he'll make it. The artwork in one panel CLEARLY shows that he's not even close to making it, but, in the next, he's made the distance comfortably.

There's also one particularly weird lettering error, where Gordan calls his daughter "Babe" instead of "Babs." That little oversight gave me the creeps.

Finally, Conway's characterization is very uneven in this issue. He does a decent (though somewhat insulting) depiction of Talia and Selina fighting over the man they love while being forced to work together, and he makes up for any insult there with a brilliant depiction of Batgirl -- bold, strong, and brilliant. However, the rogues are completely devoid of characterization. If you're going to bring together nearly all of Batman's greatest villains in one issue, make it count! These guys get out one or two lines each to demonstrate who they are, and that's the end of it. Even the Joker, who gets the bulk of the attention in this issue, is almost completely devoid of personality. He gets off a few gags, has some expository inner-monologue for the sake of moving the story along, and Conway even makes the intriguing point that the Joker isn't as insane as he pretends to be (a read on the character that I thoroughly endorse), but none of that comes across in the stale and practically-minded writing surrounding him.

Most significantly, I'm incredibly disappointed in how Jason was handled. His stumbling upon the Batcave (and I have a VERY hard time believing someone was careless enough to leave the grandfather clock entrance open!) felt just like Anakin Skywalker stumbling upon that fighter craft cockpit during the fire fight in Phantom Menace. It was ridiculous, and his inner monologue is stale and annoyingly simplistic. There are no complex thoughts or feelings as he stumbles upon such a big secret; just a "I probably should mind my own business--but mom always says I'm as curious as a cat. Whoops! Something tells me I could be in big trouble." It's, quite frankly, boring, and this should be a BIG, powerful, dramatic discovery that helps to introduce and develop this new protagonist. Fortunately, it sounds like Moench has a better idea what to do with him when he takes over next issue.

All in all, Conway delivered a thoroughly compelling plot and concluded most of the themes still left open in his story arc, leaving us with one powerful new beginning at his own personal ending. Still, characterization was a major turn-off here. Even Croc didn't become any more interesting as a character in his final, climactic battle.

[JKCarrier]

Batgirl (who reveals that she has figured out his and Bruce's identities)

A minor thing, but one I really appreciated. She had figured it out previously in the old Batman Family series, only to have that knowledge erased from her mind in a later story. Conway figures, quite logically, that if she deduced their identities once, there was nothing stopping her from doing so again.

Wherever Conway was going with Gordan being stressed out and suddenly having medical issues gets ditched as well.

Moench picks up on this during his run.

However, the rogues are completely devoid of characterization. If you're going to bring together nearly all of Batman's greatest villains in one issue, make it count! These guys get out one or two lines each to demonstrate who they are, and that's the end of it.

"Every villain shows up at once" is the kind of fannish idea that seems like it ought to be cool, but this is usually how they turn out...two seconds of "Hey look, it's that one guy." Fun in an "easter egg" sort of way, but yeah, not really conducive to deep storytelling.

[shaxper]

(Doug Moench run begins)


Batman #360

"When Slays the Savage Skull"
writer: Doug Moench
art: Don Newton

Grade: A-


It seems like Moench did his homework. In so many ways, this issue seems like an answer to everything that was lacking in Conway's mostly impressive (but, in some significant ways, flawed) run on the title.

The story, itself, is set up exactly like Conway's cookie cutter plots from the beginning of his run, with a new villain that gets a long flashback/origin story two thirds through. However, the execution is so smooth and the art so competent that you almost don't notice. It actually works for once.

While doing this, Moench is careful to continue the two storylines still left open from Conway's run. One of these is the issue of Jim Gordon's health, which Conway had set up in his final stories and then abandoned in the final issue. Moench takes great pains to emphasize them again, leaving us to genuinely fear that he's going to have a heart attack soon.

Of course the other storyline that was left unfinished is that of Jason Todd, whose parents just died last issue. A month has passed, and Bruce has taken the boy under his wing. Whereas Jason had no discernible personality before, Moench uses the tragedy to complicate the character, having him walk a balance between bright eyed idealism and intense sullenness that even Jason can't predict. Stronger still is the characterization Moench allows this to add to Batman, so concerned with Jason that the narration has him intently watching Jason's cup of hot cocoa for clues as to whether he'll ask to come along on the next adventure, which Bruce fears because he'll have to say no and depress the boy further. It's a fantastic and (I believe) purposeful contrast to the Bruce of Conway's run who was trying to detach from everyone. At the conclusion of his run, Conway gave Bruce someone to let in again, and Moench has taken the reigns on that theme with impressive skill.

Finally, what stands out the most in Moench's writing is his innate sense of characterization. Whereas Conway could write an entire issue without a single personality shining through, Moench lends a strong sense of characterization to literally every bit character that gets a line in this issue, including a guy at a newsstand with a dark sense of humor, a random bystander whose simple world gets shattered when he witness the death of a cop, a pushy detective who should have left the force years ago, four cops (each of which comes off very differently) and, of course, the deranged villain. This is a very satisfying change for me. I almost felt nourished in this issue after going a very long time without sustenance in the form of characterization.

The plot in one really long sentence: A mysterious villain called The Savage Skull is killing police officers, leading Batman to tire himself out, going day and night without food and rest, to find the killer, all while Gordon has a talk with Mayor Hill, nearly dies right in front of him, and gets yelled at and threatened by Hill for being in poor health, just as Batman finds the killer and discovers that Gordon is next on his list, leaving him to find Gordon, have Gordon tell him that The Savage Skull was once a gun-happy police officer who had his face burnt off in a fire, killed an innocent kid, and was kicked off of the force, leaving him to want revenge against the cops that betrayed him, just as The Skull bursts through the window and has his final battle with Batman before hitting his head, falling in the Gotham River, and presumably dying.

I'm really digging Moench thus far. He may not be crafting the elaborate continuity that Conway spun so well yet in this issue, but his ability to make such a generic story sing is damn right impressive.

[shaxper]

A minor thing, but one I really appreciated. She had figured it out previously in the old Batman Family series, only to have that knowledge erased from her mind in a later story. Conway figures, quite logically, that if she deduced their identities once, there was nothing stopping her from doing so again.

A very good call on his part.

"Every villain shows up at once" is the kind of fannish idea that seems like it ought to be cool, but this is usually how they turn out...two seconds of "Hey look, it's that one guy." Fun in an "easter egg" sort of way, but yeah, not really conducive to deep storytelling.

Yup. You think they'd get some face time in a double sized issue, but it just doesn't happen. I found it particularly disappointing that none of them managed to stick around for the climax. Few even faced Batman once in the story. They were almost entirely incidental to the plot.

[shaxper]

Detective Comics #527


"Avatars of Vengeance"

writer: Doug Moench
art: Dan Day

Grade: A-


Once again, Moench employs a rather generic story, in which Kirk Langstrom manages to forget his anti Man-Bat pills once again, producing a monster that still, for some inexplicable reason, believes that Batman killed his daughter (who is very much alive). It sounds like a terrible story, but Moench infuses it with energy.

Once again, Moench picks up on the unresolved themes from Conway's run. We've got an exhausted and clearly ill Jim Gordon being belittled and bullied by Mayor Hill (it's powerfully infuriating in this particular issue), as well as Batman feeling like he's overextending and exhausting himself, but not sure why or how.

Upon coming home from a particularly exhausting evening with no thoughts but a desire to quickly see Jason and then head off to bed, Jason suggests they go out for a movie that night. Bruce instantly puts off all other thoughts to make that happen. It's both touching and almost funny as we watch the two in parallel, dressing for the evening with the hopes of impressing the other. In contrast, Vicki Vale receives word that Bruce has broken a date with her again, and Man-Bat patrols the city looking for Batman...a reminder that Bruce truly is over-extended.

The issue culminates with Man-Bat finding his way into Wayne Manor from the Batcave (this is actually plausible considering their last encounter), correctly inferring that Jason is a sort of "son" to Batman, and then flying off with Jason, threatening to kill him like Batman killed his daughter. Batman, who has clearly made Jason the first priority in his life at this moment, screams after Man-Bat in a thorough rage:

"This is IT, Man-Bat! You've gone too far! No more will I treat you with kid gloves simply because I feel sorry for you! You've crossed the line--and I'm coming after you with blood in my eyes! DO YOU HEAR ME, MAN-BAT? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

In stark contrast, an astonished Alfred can only offer:

Good lord, Sir, you're...you're hysterical...almost mad--!"

It's a powerful, powerful note to be continued on.

I should also add that Dan Day makes outstanding contributions to the success of this story as the new artist. His work is nearly as potent as that of Newton and Alcala, and his framing, perspectives, and action sequences are far more inventive. I was thoroughly impressed with his work.

[Captain Jim]

Dan Day was the brother of the late Gene Day who was Moench's frequent partner on Marvel's Master of Kung Fu title. I always loved Gene's work and Dan's was very reminiscent of it. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, Dan didn't stay around very long. (Wonder what happened to him?)

I always felt Moench did a pretty good job during his first run on Batman. However, I think his second go around was much less impressive.

[shaxper]

Dan Day was the brother of the late Gene Day who was Moench's frequent partner on Marvel's Master of Kung Fu title. I always loved Gene's work and Dan's was very reminiscent of it. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, Dan didn't stay around very long. (Wonder what happened to him?)

Can't thank you enough for this background. I couldn't find a single thing about him on the web. It's like he never existed.

[shaxper]

Batman #361

"The Most Successful Species!"
Writer: Doug Moench
art: Don Newton

Grade: C


Moench takes several steps back in this issue, which continues the Man-Bat storyline from last month's Detective Comics. Whereas we left off last issue with Bruce swearing to kill Man-Bat and Alfred watching, dumbstruck, we get a lot of back-peddling in this one. First, we get a reenactment of the end of the last issue, only it's far tamer this time, with Bruce only swearing "This time you'll pay in Blood!" Of course, two panels later, he goes on to explain to Alfred, "Don't worry--What you just saw was frustration with myself." And, ten pages later, Batman reflects to himself, "I was wrong to want Man-Bat's blood--and I knew it the moment I looked into Francine Langstrom's eyes." In every possible way, Moench is backing off from and rewriting the cliffhanger he left off with last time. I wonder if this abrupt shift came from Wein, from even higher up, or maybe lower down (from Moench, himself). Whatever the case, it was a supreme disappointment to me because Bruce's rage was justified, and it was also understandable considering all the stress and strain he'd been feeling in that issue.

Unfortunately, there isn't much to the rest of the story. Man-Bat tries to turn Jason into a second Man-Bat to serve as his offspring, Bruce saves him with a semi-clever plan, and the whole thing ends with a chuckle as Bruce has to cancel his date with Vicki AGAIN, as Bruce stares, bewildered, at the phone after being hung up on while an elated Jason cheers "Oh boy, Bruce--can we see a 3-D science-fiction [film]?" from the background.

The one nice addition at the end is the introduction of Harvey Bullock, the assistant Mayor Hill has appointed to Gordon with the express purpose of driving him off the force.

All in all, though, this was nothing more than an adequate Batman story, and that's a sincere disappointment considering where Moench left us hanging in the previous issue.