Batman: Dark Detective 2006 (SC TPB) 144 pages
Written by Steve Englehart. Pencils by Marshall Rogers. Inks by Terry Austin
Colour: Chris Chuckry. Letters: John Workman. editor: Joey Cavalieri.
Reprinting: the six issue mini-series
Rating: * * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
Mildly for mature readers
Three decades ago, Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin produced a brief run of Batman stories in Detective Comics that was considered a creative benchmark, with fans long after demanding (in vain) the return of the love interest Englehart introduced in those issues, Silver St.Cloud. It's one of the few Bronze Age (late 1960s to mid-1980s) story arcs DC has collected in TPB form -- as Batman: Strange Apparitions. (I actually came across a review which, referring to that Englehart/Rogers run, claimed it was what the 1989 Batman movie was based on -- sure, insofar as they both featured a guy with pointy ears and a cape...but not in anyway that related to plot, theme, characterization, style, or artistic intent. I've seen that before -- it's a trendy marketing ploy when a super hero movie/TV show does well, to hype any and all comic book stories as being THE one that directly inspired the movie, even if it bears little resemblance to it).
Anyway, last year the team reunited (including letterer John Workman) for the mini-series, Batman: The Dark Detective, subsequently collected in a TPB.
For the record...I wasn't a big fan of the original Englehart-Rogers run. But I picked this up, unhappy with some current Batman stories and feeling nostalgic. What I got...was one of the best mainstream comics in recent years!
Englehart sets it up as unpretentious, super hero adventure, with The Joker, Two-Face and the Scarecrow all in town, pursuing separate schemes...but then he returns Silver St. Cloud. She rekindles her romance with Bats, and the comic takes on a refreshing maturity, as we get a grown up, and messy, relationship (Silver is engaged to another man, a gubernatorial candidate the Joker is targetting). Englehart, while still portraying a brooding Batman, redefines him as a three dimensional human being, capable of passion, insecurity, and even wit.
There's humour, too, and Englehart throws in cheeky political jibes -- adding to the sense he's writing up to his readers, not down. Current affairs satire in a super hero comic? Will wonders never cease? There's also a Cary Grant reference and character names derived for old Batman writers and artists -- again, suggesting an older target audience.
Rogers-Austin's line work isn't as tight as in their heyday, but Rogers can do mood-heavy backgrounds like few others, and flares Batman's cape with a aplomb. He often had a good eye for composition but perhaps because of the character-rich scenes, excels himself here. And the fight scenes, though innovative, retain a pleasing reality.
The adventure aspect is straightforward, super heroics -- The Scarecrow doesn't even seem to have any particular plan. Though Englehart has a better sense for making the Joker seem truly crazy than most writers. But by having three villains, we get a cleverly chaotic reality, where Batman can't just deal with one case at a time (as he remarks to Two-Face when stumbling upon the latter during a robbery: "I was actually looking for the Scarecrow!") While a scene where Joker and Two-Face briefly confront each other is an understated bit of coiled tension, suggesting two old soldiers but with significantly different world views -- none of the cutesy "super villain club house" stuff ala Identity Crisis.
But it's with the characterization that the saga leaps above the crowd. Englehart puts a provocative spin on Two-Face's two-headed coin obsession that, if other writers had already posited it, I've never read. However, it's with Batman that Englehart really shines, creating a plausible human being, not just an icon. In fact, the reason the Scarecrow doesn't seem to have much of a goal is because he's really just a catalyst for exploring Batman's psyche.
Of course Silver and Bats don't live "happily ever after" -- though not necessarily for the reasons you might expect.
Admittedly, the climax left me with mixed feelings as Batman, and some police, separately invade the Joker's booby trapped house. It's a genuinely creepy, edge-of-the-seat sequence -- generating more tension than I expected, or thought could be mustered in a comic book form (especially given that Bat-foes with booby trapped lairs are a hackneyed staple of the character). But it demonstrates a level of violence that jars with the series overall.
There are some continuity questions. Batman is an outlaw, but it's not explained why, and Englehart ignores that Silver had previously returned to Gotham (in the "Siege" storyline, from the comic Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight -- drawn by Rogers, yet!). Silver's participation in that earlier story was sufficiently peripheral that he could've told this story while still acknowledging it.
Anyway...
What was maybe intended as just an excercise in nostalgia turns out to be a refreshing mix of fun, four-colour super heroics...and sophisticated, adult drama. What Batman should be...and too rarely is. Definitely recommended.
This is a review of the story as it was originally serialized in the monthly mini-series.
Cover price: $__ CDN./ $14.99 US.
Batman: A Death in the Family 1988 (SC TPB) 144 pages
Written
by Jim Starlin. Pencils by Jim Aparo. Inks by Mike DeCarlo.
Colours: Adrienne Roy. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Dennis O'Neil.
Reprinting: Batman #426-429 (covers reprinted on back cover)
Additional notes: mock intro by a future historian, analyzing Batman and Robin; afterword by Dennis O'Neil.
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
This was the controversial storyline in which Jason Todd
-- the second Robin -- was murdered by tthe Joker.
There's a lot of baggage
that comes with this story (which I hadn't read when it was originally
published over a decade ago). It raised a lot of eyebrows among the general
public as to just what sort of people were writing comics these days.
This was not simply because those writers killed off a well known supporting
character (although the original -- better known -- Robin, Dick Grayson,
remained unscathed) , or the fact that the character in question was a
kid (entertainment in the murder of a minor?), or even the brutal manner
in which he was killed. The controversy stemmed from the fact that DC left
the decision as to whether Jason lived or died up to the fans who could
phone in their votes. In other words, the Batman readership -- many, one
assumes, kids -- were encouraged to decide whether a character lived
or died. Not since the days of the Roman Colliseum had the world experienced
such a questionable spectacle. And the fact that the person in question
was a fictional character didn't tend to mute the disgust many
felt toward DC Comics. Adding to the situation was the fact that the vote
to kill Robin didn't pass by a huge margin -- a lot of fans actually voted
to keep him alive.
As I said, there's a lot of ethical baggage that comes
with this, but I'll put it aside (for the moment) and concentrate
on the story as just that -- a story.
Surprisingly, this turns out to be a pretty decent read.
The first two issues of this four issue story were double-sized,
meaning it's actually a solid, six issue epic. Literally. Those
double-sized issues are broken evenly into 22 page chapters and one can't
help infering that DC had originally planned it as six regular issues but,
maybe feeling they couldn't sustain the publicity machine over six months
(after all, the story was a publicity stunt) decided to make it
four months.
The story has Jason Todd discovering that his birth mother
is still alive and might be one of three women, all of who are currently
living in various parts of the middle east and North Africa (absurd coincidences
play a big part in the ensuing activities -- you either swallow them, or
you might as well not read the book). Meanwhile, Batman is hot on the trail
of the Joker who is also winging his way to the middle east (I warned you
about coincidences). The story is, therefore, comprised of a few smaller
stories -- their quests for the first two women lead Batman and Robin into
adventure and intrigue involving terrorists, but also turn out to be wild
goose chases. Ultimately, you know the third time will turn out to be the
charm. But because all stories take place in, roughly, the same geographical
area, and the Joker weaves in and out, the result is a story that has the
feel of a single epic, while being comprised of three or four smaller stories.
Along the way, Superman even crops up in a supporting part for an issue
or two.
Part of the saga's strength is the removal from Batman's
usual Gotham City stomping grounds. The middle eastern setting adds a fresh
ambience to the saga, and there's a clear attempt to imbue the
series with a grittier, real-world edge, as the Joker eschews his usual
comic book activities of jewel heists and the like in favour of branching
into the world of terrorism, or hijacking famine relief supplies he figures
he can sell on the black market. As the saga moves into its climax, global
politics become central to the story, leading to a showdown at the U.N.
Though I wasn't as comfortable with the idea of Batman breaking up a kiddie
porn ring at the beginning (nothing graphic, of course).
Writer Jim Starlin tells the story well, with a good blend
of mood, introspection, and action. The only other Bat-tale I'd read by
him from that period -- The Cult -- had left me disappointed,
but this is decently written, with good characterization and dialogue.
Jim Aparo, a guy who will no doubt go down in comicbook history as one
of the definitive Bat-artists, aquits himself quite nicely. Aparo is right
at home, and his style is dynamic and comprehensible -- there's nary a
picture or scene anywhere that you need to read twice to figure out what's
going on. His teaming with inker Mike DeCarlo works very well. I had previously
had my reservations about Aparo's looser style from the period, and felt
DeCarlo's rigid, geometric inks weren't the most appropriate for him. I
don't know if I've mellowed, or whether this is just better work, but the
art is particularly strong -- curiously, DeCarlo's inks don't even look
like DeCarlo's usual style. There's also a touch of the influence of comic
strip legend, Milton Caniff, that I'd never recognized in Aparo's art before (though I realize it was there all along).
Of course, just because this is trying for an edgy realism
doesn't mean it altogether succeeds. There's some simplistic plot progression
and lapses in credibility -- even silliness (I mean, just what did
the Iranians intend in the climax?). And one gets the feeling Starlin probably
didn't do a whole lot of research on the region, or his topics. There's
an intriguing plot twist late in the saga, involving Diplomatic Immunity,
but it pushes credibility. But then, comics have also (I believe) misunderstood
the legal definition of Insanity for many, many years, so legal technicalities
are not something you should learn from a Batman comic. There I go, referring
to "comics" again, as if it's the only medium with such problems, when
in fact all of my above criticisms could be applied to many a respected
movie or novel, as well.
Set in the Arab world, peopled by terrorists, it could slide into offensive cliches, but (maybe because of innocent Arab taxi drivers and hotel clerks) you don't really come away feeling Starlin is trying to paint all Arabs as bad guys...anymore than the Joker and his goons represent all Americans. At the same time, the portrayal of Iranians later in the story as just cardboard, illogical villains certainly seams xenophobic (whatever one may think about the Iranian government, then or now). And when Batman at one point refers to an Iranian generically as an Arab, Starlin seems to be blurring the distinction between a government...and a race. Which is troubling.
Another qualm is that once Jason learns he has a "real" (read biological)
mother, the way he just seems to forget about his dead mother -- the woman
who raised him -- seems cold and insensitive.
Emotionally, the story doesn't really succeed as well
as it should. Granted, I wasn't that familiar with Jason Todd, so his death
didn't strike a personal chord with me. But although Jason's death, part
way through, sends a vengeful Batman after the Joker, comic writers like
Starlin seem more comfortable with emotions like anger or revenge, rather
than the more powerful, and heart-wrenching emotion of...grief (O.K., now
I do mean to single out comics writers). Neither Batman, nor Alfred, really
act like they've lost a member of their family. Though, ironically, given
that Jason was killed precisely because a lot of fans didn't like him,
I didn't find him an unsympathetic character here.
But, despite its short comings, despite my moral qualms
and my cynicism, A Death on the Family turns out to be a highly
readable saga -- one that boasts some atypical, even complex plotting and
plot turns. Compared to some other "stunt" stories (The
Death of Superman, for one), this holds up as a story, regardless of
its mythos shaking significance. I even thoroughly enjoyed the old fashioned,
pre-computer, single tone colouring. I like modern comics with their rich,
shaded palates, but sometimes they can be a bit cluttered and overwhelming.
That's the story considered apart from the ethical questions.
Considered with the ethical question, it remains a highly questionable
excercise, as does the excessively brutal manner in which Robin was killed
-- comics, too often, have become a mediium of excess. And it's made all
the more distasteful by the way DC Comics (here represented by a closing
editorial by Bat-editor Denny O'Neil) constantly refuses to acknowledge
the legitimacy of their detractors' views, and refuse to accept responsibility
("it wasn't our fault, blame the fans"). Ugh. Though one can sympathize
with O'Neil, who acted as front man on the whole enterprise, but has repeatedly
claimed he voted to keep Robin alive! Adding insult to injury is
a quote on the back from O'Neil saying it would be "sleazy" to bring back
the character. Though Jason remains deceased, DC and O'Neil conjured up
yet another Robin (Tim Drake) just a few
issues later. Yup. Sleazy's the word.
Originally published as one of those economical TPBs DC
used
to put out on conventional newsprint paper for a fantastically modest price,
it has since been re-issued as a more conventional TPB...with an appropriately
inflated price tag.
Original cover price: $4.95 CDN. / $3.95 USA
Current cover price: __ / $12.95 USA
Batman: Detective 2007 (SC TPB), 144 pages.
Written by Paul Dini, with Royal McGraw. Illustrated by Don Kramer, and J.H. Williams III, Joe Benitez, Marcos Marz. Inked by Wayne Faucher, Victor Llamas, Luciana Del Negro.
Colours: John Kalisz. Letters: Jared K. Fletcher, with John J. Hill. Editor: Peter Tomasi.
Reprinting: Detective Comics #821-826 (2006-2007), with covers
Rating: * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
Batman has gone through a bit of a creative tug-of-war over the last few decades. Often portrayed as a single-minded, one note vigilante (sometimes dismissed as "A$$h__e Batman" by some web reviewers), and his adventures often caught up in multi-title Batman Family crossovers (War Games, Contagion, Bruce Wayne Murderer, etc.). There's a school of thought that says Batman has kind of gone off the creative rails. So every now and then, DC responds to such criticisms, and the recent run on Detective Comics by Paul Dini offers a slightly more sympathetic Batman and, in a bit of Old School conceit, presents a lot of one-off, stand alone adventures.
Oh, yeah, and he also plays up Batman as a detective, not just a knuckle-duster.
Batman: Detective collects the first six issues of this "new era", and sure enough we have six largely stand alone tales -- oh, not isolated from continuity, as familiar foes crop up, and Dini introduces a minor recurring thread in that the Riddler, who not so long ago had been re-invented as a homicidal madman privvy to Batman's secret identity, has since developed amnesia and gone straight...turning his criminal mind for puzzles into the analytical mind of a private detective (resulting in some amusing clashes with Batman over shared investigations).
And the overall result is...okay. Unfortunately, I can't really be more enthused than that after reading this collection (and, indeed, a couple of subsequent Dini scribed issues), even though I'm all for what is the point of the tales -- stand alone stories with beginning, middles and ends; a greater emphasis on mystery and detection; and maybe a slightly kinder gentler tone.
Essentially, this collection can be broken into two types of tales -- 3 detective/mystery tales, and 3 traditional arch foes/super hero tales.
I've said before that detective/mystery stories seem to be something comic book writers do really, really, badly -- whether the mystery is crammed into an 8 page short, or stretched over a 12 part maxi-series. They just seem to have trouble getting the basics.
In this case, Dini offers mysteries where the emphasis is on talk more than action, with the fighting minimal as Batman investigates. But Dini tends to cheat, as killers are often revealed to be people we'd barely met, based on clues that we were never fairly given, and deductions that are more leaps of logic than analytical inferences. I'm in the middle of reading Showcase presents The Elongated Man...and thoroughly enjoying it. In it, the mysteries tend to be a bit haphazard...but it can be forgiven because the stories are short, and the set ups are usually intriguing (even if the denouements are weaker). But stretched out to 22 pages, you kind of need better plotted mysteries. Particularly because that's all there is: Dini offers no on-going sub-plots, no blossoming romance betweern Batman and a love interst, or anything, so he can't fall back on the "the plot-of-the-month is just a fun filler tale" excuse. And the action scenes, themselves, are largely bland and non-descript.
Nor is there a great deal of human emotion: his Batman may not be a one-note fascist...but he's not really anything else, either. He basically just saunters through the tales (and narrates) with a kind of unflappable stoicism.
In one of the superhero/action stories, Batman must protect villainess Poison Ivy from a killer monster plant, before discovering Ivy's own ugly secret. To which Ivy remarks: "You're acting as if I betrayed you. Did you truly believe your efforts...would change me?" But Dini never really gave us any hint of Batman becoming emotionally invested in the case. (And that's ignoring the fact that Ivy seems to ping pong back and forth, depending on the writer, as to whether she's a tragic antagonist...or black hearted villainess)
Other "superhero" focused stories are one where Dr. Phosphorous returns (scripted by pinch hitter McGraw)...and it's an entirely generic example of the "villain-seeks-revenge-by-killing-off-his-enemies-one-by-one" tales. And, I'll admit, I have no idea how this fits into DC's morass of retconned continuity (since Dr. Phosphorous was first introduced into pre-Crisis continuity). The final story has Robin tied up in a car with the Joker while the Joker goes on a vehicular homicide killing spree. It's a story that can leave you mixed. On one hand, it's an off beat concept (basically one scene)...and on the other hand, it is just an excuse for a lot of Joker mayhem, and it too lacks too much in the way of any kind of emotional sub-text (not to mention that Robin has his own comic, so why is this tale being told here?)
As I say, ostensibly, these are largely stand alone tales, but there remains that whole problem in modern comics as to whether they're writing for a committed fan base...or hoping to woo new readers. In one story Batman makes a quick call to Zatanna the Magician for advice...but it's not really explained who she is for the uninitiated (she even refers to herself in the third person, so a casual reader might not realize it's her name). Comics are having enough trouble holding an audience...they really need to be written more reader friendly (as others have said, every comic is potentially some reader's first comic...and could be their last if they find it too confusing in its cryptic references).
Paul Dini came to comics from TV, where he wowed comic fans with his work on Batman: The Animated Series -- the cartoon that was seen as an adult-friendly, and arguably the most true to the spirit of the comic of any filmed version of Batman (from West to Burton). But I'm reminded of a comment I recently read made by Christopher Priest, a comics scribe who, though hit and miss, it's safe to say is one of the more critically acclaimed writers in recent comics, and how he seemed to indicate he was kind of leaving the biz, in part because the new editorial trend seemed to be to embrace the recent influx of "slumming" TV writers (like Dini, Joss Whedon, J. Michael Straczynski, etc.) at the expense of comics writers who made the art form their first and last love. The point is, Dini is not a bad writer compared to comics veterans...but I've yet to read anything by him that made me stand up and shout, either.
The art is strong throughout, reflecting some intriguing stylistic variances, from JH William III almost photorealism to Joe Benitez's Jim Lee-esque stylings on the Poison Ivy tale (with its slightly more cheesecake approach) to Marcos Marz's work on the Dr. Phosphorous tale which looks both vaguely painted...and as if reproduced from the pencils, yet it was neither. But Don Kramer is the principal artist and has a solid, realist style. I'll admit, though I can't really find fault with too much of the art...none of it necessarily excited me either, or made me say: "Man...I have just got to see more by these guys!"
As I said, this is maybe supposed to be a kinder gentler Bat-era...but those terms are defined by Batman's already dark and twisted world. There's still muder and mayhem and grisly atrocities -- more than is perhaps really needed, or warranted given that, in other ways, Dini and company seem to want to go for a (slightly) lighter touch with quips and humour. And scenes of Batman visiting a kinky sex club like something out of CSI seem a tad questionable.
And there's still the eternal problems of super heroes and they're love of brutality. In one story, Batman tracks down a suspect in a homicide -- not even a suspect, more a "person of interest". And we cut to Batman dangling the man from a building, with blood on the man's face. Sure, we don't know what preceded it -- maybe Batman acted in self-defense. But what we see is Batman beating and, essentially, torturing a guy to get information...a guy he has no reason to really view as a serious suspect yet. And Dini and company clearly think this is okay...better yet, is kind of cool ("You show 'im Batman...and remember, it ain't torture -- according to the Bush adminstration -- as long as you stop before organ failure!")
Ahem...still, aside from that momentary political digression on my part, over all, I moderately enjoyed these issues -- I really did -- but, as I say, moderate is the most I can muster. There are some cute bits, some amusing exchanges (particularly when Batman clashes with the reformed Riddler). I was perfectly content breezing through the stories...even as, when I finished them, most left me with a vague sense of dissatisfaction.
Cover price: $__ CDN./ $14.99 USA.
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