Batman 300 and up (reviews by shaxper)

[shaxper]

Batman #434

"The Many Deaths of Batman, Chapter Two: How Many Times Can A Batman Die?"
writer: John Byrne
pencils: Jim Aparo
inks: Mike DeCarlo
letters: John Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
asst. editor: Dan Raspler
editor: Denny O'Neil
creator: Bob Kane

grade: B-

Not much of an issue. Byrne and Aparo alternate advancing the plot of this uninspired who-dunnit with visual misdirection and playing with more striking visuals that aren't aided by captions. A little fun to read, but nothing particularly remarkable.

This issue marks the introduction of an unnamed assistant coroner who goes on to assist Gordon in cracking this case. I don't know if anything ever becomes of this character, but Byrne is certainly invested in her.

We get more overt statements about how close the relationship is between Gordon and Batman, though no mention that it's strained here.

What's up with the unnamed French villainess Batman spent half of this issue pursuing? She's never named and doesn't seem integral to the story at all.

Important to note that, while earlier post-Crisis Batman stories worked hard to present Bruce's public face as that of an idle and detestable playboy, Gordon knows him best as:

"...the man who turned the Wayne Foundation into one of the finest charitable institutions in this country...the man whom anyone will tell you is one of the finest citizens in Gotham..."

And, sure enough, when Gordon visits Bruce later in the story, there's no attempt to claim he was out partying the night before (even though he does explain he got back late) or to present himself as idle and obnoxious. He presents himself confidently, respectfully, and in a dignified way. This seems to be consistent with his depiction Pre-Crisis. Too bad there's no Lucius now, though.


If I recall correctly, all of the victims will turn out to be people who helped train Batman, thus delivering O'Neil's promise that both this story and "Blind Justice" would shed light on the training Bruce undertook to become Batman. Working under that assumption, here are the people we've learned about in this issue who assisted in Batman's training:

Mark Jenner -- Expert Driver
? Stone -- Demolition Expert (why would Bruce need this?)
? Kingsley -- Chemistry Whiz (I guess Bruce needed to supplement what he learned in College, depicted in Detective #574).
? La Salle -- Body Builder
Peter Allison -- Actor

Gordon claims that each of these men were at the peak of their careers 7 or 8 years ago. I don't know if Byrne means to imply that Batman has only been active for that long. O'Neil seemed to be thinking 10 years at this point (and said as much on several occasions), and my own timeline has Bruce in at least year 12.


The letters column for this issue turned up a few interesting curiosities:

- O'Neil describes his understanding of Year Three (to be released in the Summer) as "contrasting a younger Batman three years into his crime fighting career with the more bitter and avenging Batman of today." While there was a past/present contrast in that story, I remember it being centered almost entirely upon Dick, not Bruce. Funny that O'Neil doesn't mention Robin at all there. Maybe he was trying to keep people from guessing correctly about what he says next.

- However, O'Neil does say, ""Next issue I'll be announcing another major event in the life of Batman, which will begin in Batman #440. You guys are in for some exciting surprises." Looks like they already had Robin III well planned at this point, even though Jason's only been gone for five months. It's well documented that Warner Bros. was furious that Robin had been killed, so I guess they were in a rush to bring in a replacement, especially now that the upcoming film would be drawing so much new attention to the book.


The plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence: Batman is chasing a cloaked antagonist across a rooftop, the two fall into the ocean, police dredge up a dead Batman 6 hours later, the asst. coroner on the scene gets involved, it turns out that all four dead "Batmen" were experts in their fields, Peter Allison is killed next, it turns out that the real Batman caught the antagonist he was chasing at the beginning, turns her into the French police, and discovers what's been happening in Gotham, Gordon and the asst. coroner show up in time to see victim #6 die, the asst. coroner suspects Bruce Wayne (who was implicated as the possible next target), they visit Bruce, he receives a costume in the mail, careful investigation causes it to release acid and melt, and victim #7 appears to be killed by a snake.

Not a great issue, but nothing particularly wrong with it either.

[shaxper]

Detective Comics #601

"Tulpa, Part One: Monster Maker"
writer: Alan Grant
pencils: Norm Breyfogle
inks: Steve Mitchell
letters: Todd Klein
colors: Adrienne Roy
assoc. editor: Daniel Raspler
editor: Denny O'Neil
creator: Bob Kane

Grade: B

While my feelings about Grant's writing fluctuate, it's GREAT to see Breyfogle back on pencils with this issue. Whereas Grant and Breyfogle's abrupt departure after #597 was never explained, nor was their return in any way promised, O'Neil now refers to them as "our regular creative team" in the letters column in this issue. Apparently, he finally got around to reading the fan mail and taking note of how beloved this team is.

Of course, his new interest in their work may be responsible for the fact that "Tulpa" will be a three parter. Previously, Grant and Breyfogle largely did one and two issue stories, but Tulpa is a three parter, and the story after ("The Mud Pack") will be solicited as yet another of O'Neil's famous mega arcs. O'Neil writes the letters column as if a new reader who had just seen the Batman film (still not out in theaters yet, but this issue could still be on the racks when it is) had picked this up as their very first comic ("I'd like to welcome all our new readers to TEC..."), and he seems to be doing all he can to make those first comics darn interesting. I hate the guy's work, vision, and ethics as an editor, but I have to agree that this is an appropriate tactic at this particular point in time, with the Batman film only a matter of weeks away.

In fact, I would argue that O'Neil's only major error in planning for the Batman film release beyond failing to provide consistent continuity across his titles is in his choice of the new Detective Comics logo. Its relationship to Batman is far too subtle. I was one of the eager young fans to first start reading Batman right after the film, and it took me a few months to realize that Detective was another Batman title. I'd assumed from the title and logo that it was an anthology title that simply featured Batman from time to time.

Breyfogle's art truly returns with a vengeance in this issue. The art seems even more intense, the panels even more kinetic, than before. He also gives us a new Batmobile for (I believe) the fourth time in this run. This one happens to be one of my favorite Batmobiles of all time. I fondly recall tracing and (later) re-drawing it as a ten year old, right down to those amazing head beams that seemed to blaze up at the heavens like the light from a star. Breyfogle even flaunts the new design on the cover; arguably his best Detective cover to date:



As for Grant, he's back on the theme of fearing foreigners, particularly those from nations that were somehow wronged by larger nations. His use of "tulpa" is well researched and interesting (if not more than a little fantastic for the tone of this run), but it also feels a little too reminiscent of the Aboriginal shaman he faced less than a year earlier in Detective #591.

On top of that, you've got to ask yourself, why can't the central character of this story just raise a really strong Tulpa to protect him from the mob boss who comes to beat him up every night (or is that what he's finally planning to do next issue?) And don't these mob guys seems a little too-easy going? They come back EVERY night to beat him without breaking any bones or removing any fingers? What a waste of their own time. How can you possibly run a large organization if you're giving this level of attention to every one of your debtors?

Page 12 offers us our first glimpse of the entrance to the Bat Cave in a very long time (certainly since long before the Crisis). We don't see too many specifics, but I'm pretty sure those light beams over the entrance on the fourth panel are suggesting there's a hologram protecting the entrance. I did think the "Poison ivy: Keep Off" sign on the side of the road before the entrance was a bit excessive. I would think you're better off presenting the area as beyond anyone's notice as opposed to rigidly controlled/enforced by someone who shouldn't have that much interest in a random plot of land beside a mountain.

Alfred attempts to take down a burglar and cracks a darn good joke in the aftermath. On the one hand, this is fun and reminds us why Alfred is so awesome. On the other, I'm a bit amazed that a burglar could get that far into Wayne Manor and only have to deal with Alfred before escaping successfully. What if he'd broken in on one of those nights while Bruce was strewn across his bed, exhausted beyond waking, and still wearing the costume? Certainly, Wayne Manor HAS to have better security than this.

So why would a man made from the imagination of our very serious and goal-oriented antagonist have a problem with bravado and feel the need to challenge Batman to a race??


The plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:

Batman pursues a dangerous driver racing through Gotham in a Ferrari, he stops the guy and watches him disintegrate before his eyes, Batman finds a lot of money on him, a guy from Tibet is waiting for his friend to arrive with $5,000, reflecting on his heritage and on all his father taught him, he is visited by a mob racketeer and his two enforcers who beat him for owing $5,000, the guy swears his friend is coming, but the friend never arrives (we can assume this is the guy Batman stopped), Batman visits the owner of the Ferrari (it was stolen) and receives no helpful info, the Tibetan guy collects himself after his beating apologizes to the memory of his father for having to use his family secrets in a corrupt fashion, and begins an incantation, he advises another "friend" to break into Wayne Manor and steal exactly $5,000, the friend breaks in, is confronted by Alfred, and escapes without the money, Alfred places a tracer on the friend and notifies Batman, Batman begins to pursue, but the friend returns to the Tibetan guy, explaining that he was discovered, and the Tibetan guy makes the friend dissolve, explaining that he was a "Tulpa", created from his own imagination, he also discovers the tracer and destroys it, Batman loses the signal but knows approximately where it was coming from, and the Tibetan guy decides to take this to the next level, summoning "a demon from hell" instead of just another Tulpa this time.


A pretty average issue, but Breyfogle's art and new Batmobile truly pushed it to the next level.

[shaxper]

Batman #435

"The Many Deaths of the Batman, Chapter Three: The Last Death of the Batman"
writer: John Byrne
pencils: Jim Aparo
inks: Mike DeCarlo
letters: John Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
asst. editor: Dan Raspler
editor: Denny O'Neil
creator: Bob Kane

grade: C+

The culmination to "The Many Deaths of the Batman" is a tad more interesting than the previous chapter, though it certainly still doesn't warrant the "mega-arc" status O'Neil tried to give it with it's special cover logo. Whereas the mystery last issue wasn't all that impressive, some nice complexities are added in this issue, though I'm still not sure the facts all added up.

For one thing, I figured out who the murderer was as soon as we discovered that the second victim was already dead before he was blown up. Yet Gordon never figures it out, Batman is slow to figure it out, and he still offers a completely different, unnecessarily elaborate and complex explanation for how he knew who the killer was in an incredibly rushed fashion at the end of the story.

For another, Byrne now reveals that Bruce Wayne was not supposed to be the next victim; Gordon had leaped ahead and gone to Bruce while not catching the next link in the chain of murders until the next day. Yet the previous murder specifically linked back to Bruce, which is what the killer does -- link the murder to the next victim. Seems like a majorly clumsy lapse in logic on Byrne's part.

And, of course, the largest lapse in logic in this story -- if Stone was afraid Batman's enemies would eventually figure out he helped to train the Batman and then come after him, why did he need to kill ALL of the people who helped train The Batman in order to fake his own death? Couldn't he have just killed himself in some relatively non-suspicious way, or did he do all this to throw off Batman? Even Batman conceded Stone did everything right to make himself "disappear" after the death, so that doesn't make sense, and even if Batman finally found him, couldn't he just explain his motives to him? He wouldn't have actually killed or harmed anyone in this circumstance.

Byrne is careful to indicate that Stone "guessed" at all these experts based on all he knew of the Batman's abilities, leaving room for other experts to be revealed later on. And, as an extra out, he indicates five remaining experts having been summoned to Gotham and only shows two of them. The other three could have been anyone, including the martial arts expert James Owsley introduced us to and Henry Ducard, who Sam Hamm introduced us to.

The full list of people who have trained Batman up to this point:

College (Gotham University?) -- criminal justice (Detective #574)
Kirigi -- martial arts, including "The Vibrating Palm" (Batman #431)
Chu Chin Li -- martial arts and pain management (Detective #599)
Tsunetomo -- ability to alter body functions, sense of time, and more martial arts (Detective #599)
Henri Ducard -- assassination (Detective #600)
Alfred -- make-up, acting the role of Bruce Wayne, altering his voice as Batman (Batman Annual #13)
Mark Jenner -- high speed driving (Batman #434)
Frederick Stone -- explosives (Batman #434)
? Kingsley -- chemistry (Batman #434)
? La Salle -- Body Building (Batman #434)
Peter Allison -- Acting (Batman #434)
Mina and Aurelius Boch -- toxicology (Batman #435)
Raphael DiGiorda -- bowmanship (Batman #435)
? Shastri -- snakes ((Batman #435)
? Campbell -- electricity (?) (Batman #435)
? Weber -- acids (?) (Batman #435)
(unnamed/never shown) -- daggers or ritualistic sacrifices(?) (Batman #435)


For what it's worth, here again is an excellent list another CBR poster compiled on Batman's training, which I am constantly checking my own list against. Clearly, his list incorporates facts that were not yet revealed as of Batman #435. I've already determined that there are a few minor gaps on this list, but it's still an extensive resource that's definitely worth consulting.

1.Kirigi - Martial Arts- Bat #431
2.David Cain - Martial Arts - Det #734
3.Henri Ducard - Martial Arts, Marksmanship - Det #599
4.Chu Chin Li - Martial Arts - Det #599
5.Tsunetomo - Martial Arts - Det Ann #3
6.Willie Doggett - Manhunting, Survival Techniques - LOTDK #1
7.Harvey Harris - Detective Work - Det Ann #2
8.Dan Mallory - Trailing, Detective Work - Bat Chron #6
9.Shao La - Taoism - LOTDK #52
10.? La Salle - Body Building - Bat #435
11.Frederick Stone - Demolitions - Bat #435
12.Mark Jenner – Driving - Bat #435
13.Peter Allison - Gymnastics - Bat #435
14.Raphael Digiorda – Archery - Bat #435
15.Aurelius Boch - Toxicology - Bat #435
16.? Webber - Acids - Bat #435
17.? Shastri – Ophidia - Bat #435
18.? Campbell - Electronics (presumed) - Bat #435
19.Unnamed Knife Expert - Knives - Bat #435
20.? Kingsley – Chemistry - Bat #434
21.Alfred Pennyworth - Disguises, Acting, Vocal Mimicry - Bat Ann #13
22.Ted Grant – Boxing - Robin #31
23.Oliver Queen - Archery - GA #134
24.Richard Dragon – Martial Arts - RD#3
25.John Zatara – Sleight Of Hand, Arcane Mysteries, Ventriloquism, Escapology - JLA:BB #2, Det #827, Det '833.
26.Max Dodge - Escapology - B:GK #29
27.Arthur McKee - Maintaining Criminal Aliases - Bat #589
28.The Rhana Bhutra - Peace (presumed) – Superman: The Odyssey
29.The Ten-Eyed Tribes Of The Empty Quarter – 52#30
30.The Lamas Of Nanda Parbat – Unknown – Bat #663
31.Unnamed Medical Examiner - Coroner's Work - B:GK #1
32.Unnamed Convicted Killer - Savate - B:SOTB #0
33.Unnamed Ninjas - Using Shadows, Psychology Of Fear - B:SOTB #0
34.Unnamed Monks - Healing Arts - Ultimate Guide
35.Unnamed Bushmen - Reading Environment, Hunting - B:SOTB #0
36.Unnamed Cattlemen - Bolas Use - Ultimate Guide
37.Unnamed Yanomami Hunters - Blowpipe Use - Ultimate Guide
38. FBI (Man Who Falls) (to join the FBI, you must get trained)
39. prestigious European universities like Cambridge, Sorbonne, etc (SotB 0)
40. Barrett Kean (Det 227) (art of disguise)
41. Lee Collins (Det 244) (boomerang throwing (batarangs)

(from http://forums.comicbookresources.com...9#post13724909)


Not much else worth discussing in this issue beyond the minor details:

- The title is a bit misleading. No special attention is given to the death of Aurelius Boch, the final "Batman" to die.

- Stone figures out that there's a connection between Batman and Bruce Wayne, and Stone presumably met Bruce Wayne under a different name (he wasn't disguised in any of the three training flashbacks we've seen at this point with Kirigi, Ducard, and the Bochs), so how does he not figure out that Bruce Wayne is Batman? For that matter, didn't Boch or Ducard ever open a newspaper and see Bruce Wayne pictured in it??

- That assistant coroner still has no name in this issue. Why give her so much attention if you're not even going to bother to name her?

- Detective Jurgens -- A fun homage to Dan Jurgens, whom Byrne recently worked with on the Superman reboot.

- Wouldn't Bruce at least raise the concern that his sneaking out under the careful watch of the police would again raise suspicion in the police's eyes that he's the murderer? This is never considered.

- O'Neil is putting both Batman and Detective on a bi-weekly schedule in time for the movie release next month. By the time the film is in theaters, O'Neil will have "mega arcs" (by the way, I am coining this phrase) running through both Batman titles with "Year 3" and "The Mud Pack".

- Gotham is said to be the nation's second largest urban center (after Metropolis, I presume). Suck it, Central City.

- A line of narrative dialogue that I wish counted for something in current continuity:

"Yet of all the things the mansion might have known, there has never been a secret so great as the one embodied by the lonely figure who now stares in mute frustration at the distant skyline".

Someone please explain this to Grant Morrison and other modern day revisionists -- Batman is the big Wayne family secret, not illicit scandals involving the Wayne ancestry that keep getting revealed for the sake of new drama.

- Why oh why would Batman explain to both Gordon and all the medical and police personnel within ear-shot that the connection amongst all these victims is that they all helped to train him? Isn't that making it awfully easy to determine his identity (as Stone epic failed to do)? Couldn't this have been one of those "Trust me, Jim" moments? And if their relationship was so strained at this point that Batman knew he couldn't ask that, this should have at least been made obvious to us.

- O'Neil outright tells a reader in the letters column that Gordon does not know Bruce Wayne is Batman. Guess he didn't bother to read Blind Justice, which made the opposite abundantly clear on at least two occasions. Nah, O'Neil just milked it as a must-read epic Batman event providing tons of critical new information about Batman and then never bothered to check it out, himself. Now that's good editing.

(continued below...)

[shaxper]

(...continued from above)

The plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:

A woman (presumably a prostitute) is found dead in a hotel, having etched a bat symbol into the carpet with her nails, Bruce is being protected by the police and cannot sneak out as Batman, though he clearly knows the connection between the victims at this point, Gordon and the assistant coroner figure out that the second victim (Stone) had been killed before being blown up, we meet Sal, who is ready to start a new life with his fiance and appears to be the murderer, Alfred creates a diversion so that Bruce can get to the Batcave, Bruce figures out that all the victims are being led to Gotham and looks up the remaining potential victims to figure out where/when they are arriving, he fails to save Boch and recalls being trained by him and his wife, he meets up with Gordon and reveals that all the victims helped to train him, figures out who the murderer is, and puts forth a plan to stop him, he disguises himself as the next victim and fails to capture Stone, he goes after Stone again and catches him with the next potential victim, he reveals how he knew it was Stone and then goes to break the news to his fiance.

[destro]

It's kind of interesting for me to read your review of Tec #601. I bought this after seeing the movie (I guess it had been sitting on the spinner rack a few months). It was the 1st modern Batman comic I read, being mostly a Marvel kid at the time.

I have to say that I did not enjoy it, I did not like the art or the story and it kept me away from Batman for a long time. Interesting that you like this version of the Batmobile, because I remember particularly disliking it. I thought it looked too futuristic.

I think O'Neil would have been smarter to keep a number of "done in ones" going during the build up to and the period the movie was out. Because what would have probably been on the racks when the movie was actually released, maybe part 2 or 3 of Tulpa? Probably confusing to new fans..

I always enjoy your reviews, please keep them going.

[shaxper]

Detective Comics #602

"Tulpa, Part Two: Night Moves"
writer: Alan Grant
pencils: Norm Breyfogle
inks: Steve Mitchell
letters: Todd Klein
colors: Adrienne Roy
assoc editor: Dan Raspler
editor: Denny O'Neil
creator: Bob Kane

Grade: C+

I have a nagging intolerance for titles that try to have double meanings, yet clearly don't have a primary meaning. The secondary meaning of the title "Night Moves" clearly corresponds to Jason Blood and Randu playing chess. However, this little attempt to be clever fails, both because there's really no significance to the chess playing in the story and because there is no other meaning behind the title "Night Moves." Yes, the action of this story occurs at night. That's pretty much true for 90% of Batman stories.

Oh well.

So here's the obligatory guest appearance of Jason Blood, designed to garner the reader's interest in The Demon. I don't think it works. I used to be a major fan of Wagner's take on The Demon (which is what is being pushed here) and I found Jason's presence, as well as the entirely unnecessary extraneous information we receive about the recent developments in his life, entirely tedious and not the least bit interesting.

Worse yet, Jason's correct in dismissing Batman's problem as just another run-of-the-mill incident in which a superhero is desperately trying to stop some escaped demon. The story really isn't any more clever than that.

Of course, Breyfogle's art is the saving grace, once again. I cannot get over how he chose to illustrate Tenzin's descent into his own mind in order to summon his demon (not Etrigan). I also found his choice of facial expressions for Batman, while telling Randu "I just hope I don't regret this!" on page 20, both comical and disarming. You just don't expect to see that kind of helplessness on Batman's face.

Probably the one thing Grant gave us in this issue that I enjoyed was the further development of Rafe Kellog's one assistant, who refers to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principal and generally amuses us with his entirely out-of-place intellect in the world of mob enforcement.


The minor details

- This is a least favorite Batman cover of mine. Both the entirely blank background and the choice of vomit-orange to fill it disturb me.

- Page 3: "Niggling doubts"? What an obscure word. I wasn't even aware of it until I looked it up just now. Sure sounds uncomfortably racially charged, even if it isn't.

- Don't use the word "hoary" when entering a spirit word. It's practically trademarked by Dr. Strange.

- Batman refers to Alfred as "the old guy" on page 5. That really bugs me, somehow.

- Why did Tenzin create Tulpas that looked just like him? Kind of defeats the purpose of his not doing the crimes himself, doesn't it?

- Last issue, Batman suggested he had other means of tracking down the guy who robbed Wayne Manor when Tenzin destroyed the tracer device, but this issue, he's still on a random rooftop, looking through binoculars for nothing in particular, until Kellogg shows up and Batman makes the correct wild assumption that he might be connected to the thief.

- Batman wonders what Kellogg is up to at this time of night. Uh, doing mob stuff?

- Kellogg conveniently decides that, if Tenzin doesn't pay him tonight, he's going to kill him. Why now? He's been beating him up for nights on end, presumably since Tenzin's father died. Isn't it convenient that he arbitrarily decides this now, just as Tenzin has prepared the demon for him? Also, does Grant understand nothing about this line of work? Collecting something from the debtor is more logical than killing the guy if he can't produce the total amount and then going home with nothing.

- On page 10, Tenzin proclaims "N-no! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" while the demon he summoned to kill Kellogg attempts to do exactly that. In what way was he expecting this to happen differently? Granted, Batman made an unexpected entrance, but he's not in frame and does not appear to be the source of Tenzin' concern in this panel.

- How do the police officers on pages 20 and 21 completely miss the giant six armed demon charging them until the very last moment? Instead of working so hard to convince them to take him in, couldn't Kellogg have just pointed at the darned thing?

- REALLY, what the heck is the point of the "From the Den" column? We're on the threshold of the biggest moment in Batman history, with tons of exciting storylines planned, new release schedules, the movie almost in theaters, etc, and all O'Neil can do is whine about losing his wallet. Clearly, the intent of this column is to function as a personal blog as opposed to providing any kind of worthwhile information to the reader, so why is Denny taking valuable space out of the letters columns of both Batman titles each month to do this? He even whines that he had no idea what to write for this month's column, so why not open up the space for more fan letters (the readership is certainly about to expand considerably!) or to provide worthwhile Batman-related news?


The plot synopsis in one long sentence:

Jason Blood whines to his friend, Randu, about having to share his body with Etrigan the Demon again, Tenzin (we finally know his name) summons a demon to protect him, Randu senses it, Batman is stalking the neighborhood and looking for the guy who robbed Wayne Manor when he spots Kellogg and (correctly) hopes he might be connected to the thief, he watches as Tenzin unleashes the demon and intercedes, Tenzin gets shot by Kellogg (who escapes with one assistant), Batman is unable to stop the demon and gets badly beaten, he learns from Tenzin that the demon is a tulpa and calls an ambulance for Tenzin, the demon keeps chasing Kellogg and his man, Batman goes to Jason Blood for help, but Jason refuses (no longer wanting to be involved in magic and fighting evil), and only Randu agrees to help.

Meh. If it wasn't for Breyfogle's art, this story would be incredibly tedious by this point.

[shaxper]

It's kind of interesting for me to read your review of Tec #601. I bought this after seeing the movie (I guess it had been sitting on the spinner rack a few months). It was the 1st modern Batman comic I read, being mostly a Marvel kid at the time.

I got into comics at precisely the same time as you, apparently. The stores near me only had #603-605 on the shelves at the time, but I didn't try any of them, failing to understand that Detective was a regular Batman title.

I have to say that I did not enjoy it, I did not like the art or the story and it kept me away from Batman for a long time.

I didn't appreciate Grant and Breyfogle at all as a kid, either. I only appreciate their work now, as an adult. Their focus on tone over action and colorful rogues was a real turn-off to the kid in me. Might be worth your revisiting now, though I wouldn't start with this particular storyline. #583-586 were the real high points for me, back when Wagner was still the head writer, as well as #592-594.

Interesting that you like this version of the Batmobile, because I remember particularly disliking it. I thought it looked too futuristic.

That's what I loved about it :)

I think O'Neil would have been smarter to keep a number of "done in ones" going during the build up to and the period the movie was out. Because what would have probably been on the racks when the movie was actually released, maybe part 2 or 3 of Tulpa? Probably confusing to new fans..

Nope. When the movie hit, the new releases were Mud Pack part 1 and Year 3 part 2, with Tulpa part 3 and Year 3 part 1 still on the racks from two weeks earlier (bi-weekly release schedule just in time for the movie).

I generally agree that, as a kid, I was looking for and expecting stand alone stories, not "mega arcs," but they certainly got my attention, and they did sell books. Unfortunately, one could easily argue that they also killed good storytelling, proving that any crappy decompressed four parter with a fancy logo could outsell the most brilliantly written/plotted stand alone. This was the harbinger of the comic book world of today.

I always enjoy your reviews, please keep them going.

Will do! Thanks :)

[destro]

I got into comics at precisely the same time as you, apparently. The stores near me only had #603-605 on the shelves at the time, but I didn't try any of them, failing to understand that Detective was a regular Batman title.



I didn't appreciate Grant and Breyfogle at all as a kid, either. I only appreciate their work now, as an adult. Their focus on tone over action and colorful rogues was a real turn-off to the kid in me. Might be worth your revisiting now, though I wouldn't start with this particular storyline. #583-586 were the real high points for me, back when Wagner was still the head writer, as well as #592-594.



That's what I loved about it :)



Nope. When the movie hit, the new releases were Mud Pack part 1 and Year 3 part 2, with Tulpa part 3 and Year 3 part 1 still on the racks from two weeks earlier (bi-weekly release schedule just in time for the movie).

I generally agree that, as a kid, I was looking for and expecting stand alone stories, not "mega arcs," but they certainly got my attention, and they did sell books. Unfortunately, one could easily argue that they also killed good storytelling, proving that any crappy decompressed four parter with a fancy logo could outsell the most brilliantly written/plotted stand alone. This was the harbinger of the comic book world of today.



Will do! Thanks :)

Now that you mention it I remember buying an issue of Year 3 around the same time and being kind of confused. But as I said, other than some 60s DC stuff my dad had, I didn't really know much about the DC characters at the time and was mainly buying Spider-Man, Iron Man and other Marvel stuff. The only DC books I read infrequently were Green Lantern and Flash.

Not a bad idea to try and re-visit some of this stuff. My feelings might be different now. Your reviews are a good substitute for reading them though, I kind of feel like I am reading them, heheh.

[foxley]

- Page 3: "Niggling doubts"? What an obscure word. I wasn't even aware of it until I looked it up just now. Sure sounds uncomfortably racially charged, even if it isn't.

Must be a nationality/cultural thing. It's a common enough expression here in Australia and (I suspect) in the UK which is probably why Grant uses it.

It would never occur to me that it is not an expression used in the US.

(Perhaps Bruce picked it from Alfred? )

[shaxper]

Must be a nationality/cultural thing. It's a common enough expression here in Australia and (I suspect) in the UK which is probably why Grant uses it.

It would never occur to me that it is not an expression used in the US.

Fascinating. We use the expression "Nagging doubts" around here.

[shaxper]

Well this is a significant post for me, both because it's the thousandth reply in this thread (wow, it's come a long way) and because it's the preface to my review of the first comic I bought as a regular reader/collector (Batman #436).

The first comic I ever bought was Detective Comics #552. I was 5 years old and stopping at the local 5 and dime after my doctor's appointment with my mother (as was our tradition) in reward for being poked and prodded. A superhero geek from birth, I usually picked out one of those 7" tall (?) rubber superhero figures but, since I'd been reading those mini comics that came with my Super Powers figures, I took notice of the comic spinner rack for the first time and asked for a Batman comic instead. I'd hoped to find something that had resembled the Superfriends adventures I adored and was disappointed that this wasn't the case. I couldn't even find Robin or a decent costumed villain in the issue, and I certainly didn't understand all the dense Moench narration. Had I been living in the 1960s, I might have become an avid comic fan right there, but this more mature comic of the 80s completely turned me off from reading for several years. I promptly tossed it aside and forgot about it for a long while.

When I was 8, I had been with my best friend and my mother at her school (she'd gone back to college) when a colleague informed her that Robin had just died and the comic was going to be an instant collector's item. It had been a long time since my encounter with Detective #552, and I didn't give a damn about comics, but I grew up on superheroes (especially Batman and Robin), so I cared a little. My mother drove us to the local stationary store (remember those?), gave us money to buy two copies, and told us to run in and find them. My friend had no interest in the comic and went to look at something else, but I started reading Batman #428 right there in the store and still remember my utter shock at seeing Jason's bruised, bloody, dying mother lying in the wreckage of a detonated bomb, as well as that panel where Bruce finally found Jason's body. Still, I didn't catch the comic bug from that, for some reason. Maybe I was still too young to appreciate the amount of time given to dense narrative introspection over actual action. Maybe I was still looking for something simpler and reminiscent of my childhood understanding of superheroes. Either way, it didn't take.

And, oddly enough, while I can recall my encounters with these first two comics with an almost photographic memory of both occasions (though I often misremember how old I was in both cases), I have next to no recollection of what led me to Batman #436. I know I was 9, I know I bought it at the comic shop that would become my first regular haunt, I know my mother drove me there, and I'm relatively sure #437 was the current issue, with #436 still on the stands (I guess due to the bi-weekly publishing schedule), and I know this was the moment that got me into comics, but I'm so vague on the rest. I figure one of three things happened:

1. I was so obsessed with the movie that either I or my mom thought it would be a good idea to check out the comics (#428 was still fresh in my mind and sitting in my desk drawer at home).

2. My best friend at the time got into Batman first and recommended that I do the same. I pretty much followed him through every possible fad.

3. We were there to rent movies (the store was primarily our regular video rental store that had loaned out the front quarter to a young guy running a small direct comics stand with a few long boxes of back issues) and I noticed the catchy Year 3 covers with ROBIN on #437 (he was my favorite character, and I thought he was dead).

I really don't remember.

Regardless, I came to Batman at about the same time as thousands of other new comic readers. I don't actually remember the Year 3 story that well at all, only the basics, but I loved those covers, and the "Part 1 of 4" business made the collector in me, who had only come off of baseball cards a year earlier, very excited. Denny sure knew how to dupe a kid with money.

So I became a regular reader of Batman. Lonely Place of Dying and Batman and Other DC Classics (a solicitation masquerading as a comic) would both soon turn me toward following the Titans as well. I'd soon start picking up Superman too (that was pretty much inevitable). A year and a half later, I'd start reading Spider-Man (beginning with the "Powerless" mega-arc), and X-Men (because my friend told me to, and several months before that title got into mega arcs and loads of #1s) Then Spider-Man #1, with its two covers, poly bags, and penciler who had no business receiving creative control over the title, hit the scene, the comic bubble opened wide, I started believing everything Gareb Shamus and his lackies at Wizard had to say about comics, and you can pretty much guess the rest from there.

The sad part is that I found myself lying on my bed one day at the age of 14, reading through the $30 of comics I had spent that week (I could barely maintain my pull list with my dog walking job), and realizing that I didn't enjoy the comics I was reading at all; I was just reading to get through them all before bagging them. Wolfman/Perez's New Teen Titans, Claremont's X-Men, and Shooter's Valiant runs aside, comics had never lived up to the grand storytelling adventures I'd always expected them to be. The covers were exciting, but the content within never did anything for me. I suspect now that this was due to a mix of being too immature for some comics (Grant/Breyfogle, for example), too mature for others (the new X stuff that was all about how hot you could draw Psylock or how improbably large you could make Cable's gun, and don't get me started on Image), and in the midst of the saddest period in comic history, in which pencilers, incentive covers, and mega arcs sold more books than quality writing.

Whatever the case, I left comics for a long, long time, and even though I returned to new comics in 2005 (leaving again this past year for much the same reason I did the first time around), I generally doubt that most mainstream comics published after 1990 are worth reading.

So this is an interesting point for me. I originally began this review thread in high anticipation of eventually getting to these issues from my own boyhood, but, the more I've come to realize what was happening under O'Neil and in the comic industry in general at the time, and the more I realize that I have fond memories for these covers and next to no memory of what's inside, I grow pessimistic in my expectations.

Still, I go in, hoping to prove myself wrong...

[shaxper]

Batman #436

"Batman, Year 3: Different Roads"
writer: Marv Wolfman
pencils: Pat Broderick
inks: John Beatty
letters: John Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
assoc. editor: Dan Raspler
editor: Denny O'Neil
creator: Bob Kane

grade: C+

Odd that, on the cusp of the new Batman film, which (to my recollection) will be mainstream media's first ever brush with a solo Batman, the mega arc hitting newsstands is focused on his meeting the first Robin, reflecting on the loss of the second Robin, and laying groundwork for the introduction of the third Robin. Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad O'Neil didn't attempt to bow to the film depiction of Batman and abandon everything else; I just find the pairing odd, especially since O'Neil is consciously preparing these books for new readers coming off of the Batman film. Of course, we do know that Warner Bros. merchandizing department was furious that Robin had been killed off a year earlier and put a lot of pressure on O'Neil to correct this. Perhaps they demanded that a Robin-related story be on the stands at the time of the movie's release? Tim Drake's introduction in this storyline and his subsequent evolution into the third Robin were almost certainly a reaction to such pressure.

On a related note, I've often wondered if the reason Year 3 was published so long after Year 1 and 2 (which were practically published back to back) was because the movie had been in development by the end of Year 2 and O'Neil hoped to save this (perhaps the most significant aspect of Batman's origin after Year 1) for the release of the film (remember, Sam Hamm's original script did have Robin make his introduction late in the film).

Year 3 is odd, though. Whereas Years 1 and 2 were straight depictions of the major events that occurred in those years, Year 3 juxtaposes a current day gangland plot that appears to have no connection with Batman's past against flashback retellings of the origin of Anthony Zucco and, later, the Dick Grayson Robin. Batman is nothing more than supporting cast in this story that barely counts as an origin tale.

Surely, spending so much time on Zucco is a miscalculation on Wolfman's part. I get the thematic groundwork he's trying to lay -- depicting the coldblooded/murderous direction Dick could have gone in (and may still go in if Zucco is freed) and that Batman may be heading in as a response to Jason's death, but it's still an awkward choice, with his spending 11 of these 22 pages on the gangland killings and Zucco's origin before it becomes apparent at all how this is a Year 3 story, or even what the focus of this story might be.

Pat Broderick on pencils? You've got to be kidding me. I don't know if Broderick had some past heyday and longstanding reputation that allows him to get these jobs, but his last stint on Detective was atrocious, and his work here isn't much better. He draws kids like demented dwarfs, his faces are inconsistent, his panel arrangements are weak and awkward, and just look at how he annihilates the otherwise powerful death of the Flying Graysons on page 1 with terrible, terrible faces. This man should not be allowed anywhere near a comic book. Why in the world would O'Neil put Pat Broderick on the book that's supposed to win over new readers coming off of the Batman film?

So Dick is worried about Batman's sanity in this issue, but I don't see any signs of that over-the-line Batman we were seeing in earlier issues, here. In fact, I'd expect a more troubled Batman to let the gangland thugs "off" each other instead of working so hard to save them because their crimes don't excuse their murders.

Odd that this seems to be the first Batman story in months to actually mention Jason. Clearly, his death is the reason Batman has been acting differently, but I'm not sure we've actually heard his name being used since #430.

Probably the most significant aspect of this issue is that it provides the first appearance (in flashback) of Tim Drake, simply referred to as "Tim," here. He's a young boy who is present when the Flying Graysons are killed, awed both by their performance and by his first glimpse of Batman.

Continuity points:

- Dick stopped being Robin two years ago.

- Jason has only been dead for a few weeks (I found this surprising since he's been dead for 8 months in real time and hasn't been mentioned in quite a while).

- According to Alfred, the Flying Graysons were killed "almost ten years ago." This messes up both my timeline and O'Neils. O'Neil would have the Flying Graysons killed 7 years ago (He sees Batman starting ten years earlier, this occurred in year 3), and my own timeline I worked out from all the facts presented post-Crisis would have them killed 8.5 to 9 years ago. I suppose 8.5 to 9 can count as "almost ten," but it's a stretch.

- Of course, this story contradicts its own timeline with Zucco's attorney stating that he's already served 12 years in prison. I suppose he could have served two years, been paroled or escaped, and then served the rest after killing the Graysons, but that's certainly not implied here.

- Tim Drake appears to be anywhere between 2 and 4 years old at the time of Year 3 (Wolfman clearly doesn't have any young kids since Tim talks like a 2 year old, but is left with a life-long inspiration after seeing Batman and the Graysons that would require a 4 or 5 year old attention span). If we average it out to 3, then (following Alfred's timeline) Tim is about 13 in current time, and (following Zucco's attorney's timeline) Tim is more like 15.

- Minor detail, but the Clown at Haly's Circus who befriended a young Dick Grayson is Harry. I'm relatively sure it was determined in DC Comics Presents #31 and again in Batman #337 that his name was Waldo in the pre-Crisis, unless this was a different clown from Haly's Circus (who, incidentally, was later revealed to be the friend of a young Jason Todd).

- Batman is still wearing the Year One chest symbol in Year 3, yet he was wearing the modern one in Year 2. Oops.

- At least one on-looker is convinced Batman is wanted by the police. This both links back to the events of Year 2 and suggests that Batman's reputation had not been firmly established by this point. Clearly though, he's not seen as an urban legend, as O'Neil tried to make him out to be early on in the reboot.

- Dick was originally sent to St. Jude's Orphanage before Bruce took him in.


minor details:

- I'm not sure how many times Dick's origin has been retold since Detective #38, but Wolfman does a nice job of adhering to the original details, fleshing out "Zucco" and even having the triple spin be a stunt performed in both tellings of the final Flying Graysons performance.

- Dick describes Wayne Manor and states:

"There's always some new work of art. Or furniture. Or something imperceptibly different that I know has changed and yet can't pinpoint. Only Bruce could keep track of everything he owns."

Since when has Bruce ever taken an interest in Wayne Manor and all the "stuff" within it? This just doesn't sound like him at all.


- Wolfman is truly trying to make Dick and Bruce seem like strangers to one another, with Dick returning to the cave and viewing it as if he has no relationship to the boy who played there. As a reminder, Bruce and Dick initially parted on friendly terms, both in Batman #217 (pre-Crisis) and Batman #408 (post-Crisis). Starlin revised the second parting in flashback, presenting it as a conflict that ended in hostilities between Bruce and Dick in Batman #416.

- Alfred's depiction of the Graysons' final discussions before their last performance is sickeningly saccharine, especially as Dick's mother randomly asks him if he's happy at the circus or wants a more normal life. I suppose one could argue that Alfred is intentionally presenting it this way for the benefit of the parole board, but I doubt it. I generally love Wolfman, but he's far from a perfect writer.

- Okay, I know that this has been canon from day one, but explain to me both why a local mobster would be hitting up a traveling circus for protection money (a traveling company wouldn't be familiar with Zucco's reputation and wouldn't be around for long anyway) and how his men would have cut the ropes so quickly after that discussion. I mean, if Dick saw them and ran back to tell his parents, he wouldn't notice the men going in the same direction, or wouldn't spot them in the catwalks while he was up there, waiting to perform?

- Alfred concludes by saying "I've come to you each year since he's been eligible for parole, and showed you how this man has not repented."

Uh, no he hasn't. His entire point (in the story he allegedly tells every year that Zucco comes up for parole) has been that Zucco did something terrible ten or twelve years ago. He's made absolutely zero mention of who Zucco is today. And, while we'll inevitably see that Zucco is still a bad seed today, does Alfred truly believe that criminals can never reform? That certainly doesn't seem to be the Batman line of philosophy, endlessly returning criminals to prison or to Arkham in the hopes that they'll change, rather than intentionally crippling or killing them because they'll just be paroled and do it again. Perhaps Wolfman and his depiction of Alfred should be working with the Punisher?

- That cliffhanger ending: "Ha! Nothing could've survived in there -- NOTHING!" I guess they killed Batman...for good. Wow. Who saw that one coming?


(continued...)

[shaxper]

(...continued from above)

The plot synopsis in one long sentence:

Batman is trying to stop a series of gangland killings and figure out who's responsible, Alfred shows up at Anthony Zucco (the murderer of the Flying Graysons)s' parole hearing to argue why he should not be paroled, he recounts Zucco's origin and the death of the Graysons, explains that he worries what Zucco's being freed will do to Dick, and Dick returns to Wayne Manor, worried about Bruce after Jason's death.


I love Wolfman. I really do. But he's written some true stinkers and, so far, this is one of them. I'm at least enjoying getting new info about the Bat continuity, but Wolfman even screws that up with the discrepancies in how long ago Year 3 occurred.

...and Pat Broderick's pencils are not helping.

[foxley]

- Minor detail, but the Clown at Haly's Circus who befriended a young Dick Grayson is Harry. I'm relatively sure it was determined in DC Comics Presents #31 and again in Batman #337 that his name was Waldo in the pre-Crisis, unless this was a different clown from Haly's Circus (who, incidentally, was later revealed to be the friend of a young Jason Todd).

Haly's Circus would certainly have had more than one clown.

- Okay, I know that this has been canon from day one, but explain to me both why a local mobster would be hitting up a traveling circus for protection money (a traveling company wouldn't be familiar with Zucco's reputation and wouldn't be around for long anyway) and how his men would have cut the ropes so quickly after that discussion. I mean, if Dick saw them and ran back to tell his parents, he wouldn't notice the men going in the same direction, or wouldn't spot them in the catwalks while he was up there, waiting to perform?

Just tossing this out there, but a travelling circus makes a good target if some of the locals were getting stroppy about paying up. He can make a fatal example of them, showing that he means business and is willing to kill, without needing to off any of his regular 'clients'. And the circus will move on rather than stick around to raise a fuss with the local authorities.

[shaxper]

Haly's Circus would certainly have had more than one clown.

Possibly (it was a small operation), but more than one clown that befriended Dick throughout his boyhood? Seems easier to have stuck with one.

Just tossing this out there, but a travelling circus makes a good target if some of the locals were getting stroppy about paying up. He can make a fatal example of them, showing that he means business and is willing to kill, without needing to off any of his regular 'clients'. And the circus will move on rather than stick around to raise a fuss with the local authorities.

On the other hand, Haly is an unknown variable who might have connections, and, theoretically, it could turn into a federal investigation if the circus was traveling interstate.

If criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot, they'd stick to the people they know and avoid unnecessary risk. It's smart business, too. You generally don't shake up a person and operation without doing some research first and making sure you know what you're dealing with.