Detective Comics #506 (1981)

Detective Comics #506 (September, 1981)
"Who Dies for the Manikin?"
Writer - Gerry Conway
Pencils - Don Newton
Inks - Steve Mitchell
Letters - Ben Oda
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Edits - Dick Giordano
Cover Price: $0.50

I've been a little cranky lately... maybe I'm just starting to crack up?  Anyhoo, rather than sticking with "current year" stuff, I'm going to run back to yesteryear to discuss something that hopefully won't cause me to question my fandom!

It's weird... for the first three 3-4 years of this blog's existence, the criticism that kept popping up was that I was a blind "DC fanboy"... I was too forgiving of them, I made excuses for them, I praised things that weren't worthy.  Well, I think I can safely say that ship has finally sailed...

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We open ten-months ago on an overpass of the Gotham River Parkway.  A flaming car goes careening through a partition, and plummets down onto the street below.  Batman swoops in to survey the damage.  He manages to tear the white-hot door open, and retrieve the still-living driver.  Upon setting her down to get a better look, it is clear that she is beyond badly burned.  The rubberneckers that have gathered beg Batman to cover her mangled body.

The woman is loaded into an ambulance, and will most likely survive the ordeal.  Then, the Fire Marshall shows up and chats Batman up while he's tinkering under the hood.  Our man discovers fragments of a bomb... so, it looks as though this vehicle's inferno-end was premeditated.  But why?

Before we get an answer, we're zipped back to the "present".  Bruce is doing some dumbbell curls, and watching a news program... featuring a few stuffed-shirts talking smack about the Bat.  One of these geeks is running for Mayor, and puts the blame squarely on Commissioner Gordon, who he'll demand a resignation from when he wins the election.  Some nice "subplot bubbling" here!  Almost forgot that writers used to actually think so far ahead!

Bruce hits the shower, then goes clubbing to keep up his playboy facade.  Worth noting, he and his date decide to party at Studio-52.  52?  There's that number again!  Ya know, one of these days I'm going to try and compile a list of all of the pre-52 "52" mentions.  I wonder if it's just a bit of confirmation bias, where the number "52" just stands out to me... or, if this "number fetish" was always there!

Anyhoo, inside, Bruce and his gal get comfortable.  Bruce notices a bizarre woman enter the scene, and beeline it over to the famous designer Kevin Clane (oy).  She confirms he is who she thinks he is... then, clutches him by the throat and hoists him out of his seat!  Bruce, uncharacteristically (hey, he's not in costume), attempts to intervene, only to be swatted away!

She continues to grip Mr. Clane's throat... before ultimately snapping it!  She dumps the body to the floor, and nonchalantly exits the club.

Bruce ducks out of the place to change clothes.  He is quick enough to confront the "femme fatale" before she can split the scene.  He attempts to abduct the killer, but gets socked in the mush for his troubles.

She then... removes her fleshy disguise, revealing herself to be (as if the cover didn't already tell us)... not unlike a living manikin!  I'm getting weird Shaye Saint John vibes here!  She pummels the befuddled Bat for a bit, before this fella in a cap wrangles her into her car... leaving her "human suit" behind.

Batman collects her clothes, and decides to check in with his favorite fashionista... Catwoman.  He gives Selina her outfit, and asks is she's seen this style of dress before.  In fact, she has... the only difference is the fact that the Manikin's jacket had it's designer's label removed.  She reveals an identical jacket in her closet... with a "Hoston" label sewn in.

And so, fearing he might be the Manikin's next target, Batman decides to check in with Mr. Hoston.  The hoity designer dismisses Batman's concerns... which, we in the biz call "famous last words".  No sooner does he p'shaw the deal than a firebomb is launched into his office!  This goof seems to be more worried about his fabrics than his life... but, Batman is able to get him back "on task".

Batman wraps Hoston in his cape and bursts through a glass door into the "showroom" to escape the inferno.  Unfortunately, the entire building has been locked down with magnetic locks... so, at this point... it looks as though they won't be getting out.

Now, this showroom is full of sharply-dressed mannequins.  As Batman weaves through 'em... he hears the familiar voice of... the Manikin.  He knows one of these "dolls" is actually her... but which?  This is a very well done and wildly creepy scene.

Batman finds one mannequin that stands out... and, sure it's his baddie, he lunges at it.  Wrong-o, Bats.  After knocking the actual doll to the floor, another wallops him with a weighted golf-club!

This is, of course, the Manikin!  She and Batman fight... while smoke and flame fills the showroom.  Under a thick layer of black smoke, the warriors strike at one another.  From the sooty facade, exits a single figure... the Manikin... and she now has her sights on Hoston.

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Y'ever find a back issue in a, like, really grimy bin?  Like a longbox that probably hasn't been gone through in years... and, you find this book you wanna buy, you pick it up... and, you can feel decades worth of "grit" on it?  That's this issue for me.  Every single page of this thing feels like it has a thin layer of sawdust coating it... I feel like I could shake this thing by the staples, and build a sizable sandcastle with all the "grit" that falls out.  In fact, I've had to wash my hands a half dozen times up to this point, because it just felt so gross.  Was the story worth the gritty struggle?

Well, yeah!  I had a really good time with this one!  It was an excellent issue!  Creepy story, formidable foe... subplots... awesome art.  I mean, what more could ya ask for?  Really can't say enough good about it!  I tell ya what, the bit with Batman walking among the mannequins might be one of the best designed/directed/drawn scenes I've seen in comics in quite some time!  The tension was real... and, you know I'm not one for "live-action" (or even animated) adaptations... but, this is one scene I'd love to see "come alive".

Actually, my only "complaint" would be that I don't think I own the next issue!  Hopefully once the world returns to normal, I can track it down so we can finish this one up!

I mentioned that our Manikin gave me Shaye Saint John vibes.  If you're unaware of who/what "Shaye" is... well, Google at your own risk, it can be the stuff of "nightmare fuel".  Very creepy stuff... that I ain't gonna link to!  "Shaye" was the star of some experimental short-films (called "Triggers") created by a fella named Eric Fournier.  The story has to do with a fashion model who was in a horrible car accident, which cost her most of her limbs.  After "recovering", she put herself back together with mannequin parts.  It might be even weirder than it sounds.  In fact, over the past decade-plus, a lot of folks would refer to these films as "dark/deep-web" stuff.  It's not anything quite that sinister, but it's easy to see why people felt that way.  If you're interested, info on Shaye/Eric is pretty easy to find online, there are a bunch of vids on YouTube (including the episode of Unboxed, Watched, and Reviewed where I learned about it!).  Last I heard the "official site" is bogged down with malware, so whatever you do, don't click on that one.

Oh, worth noting, there was a Batgirl back-up included in this one, but I decided not to include it.  Gave it a flip-thru, figure maybe one'a these days I'll pop it in as an "Action-Plus".

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Green Lantern (vol.2) #181 (1984)

Green Lantern (vol.2) #181 (October, 1984)
"Take this Job--and Shove it!"
"One Night in a Bar on Lawrel-Hardee XI"
Writers - Len Wein & Paul Kupperberg
Pencils - Dave Gibbons & Don Newton
Inks - Mark Farmer
Letters - John Costanza & John Clark
Colors - Anthony Tollin
Edits - Len Wein
Cover Price: $0.75

When I decided to "change format" to covering shorter-subjects back in February of 2019 so I could focus on Grad School, I left a few "projects" incomplete.  I did so out of either necessity, burn-out, or... in the case of today's feature, the fact that I didn't actually own a particular issue.

Now, looking at today's cover... I'd have bet my lucky dime that I'd not only owned the issue... but, had actually already covered it here on the site!  Perhaps I'm stuck in some sort of odd Mandela Effect... and on the Infinite Earths site... on one of the actual Infinite Earths, I did cover it.  But, on our actual Earth-Prime, it turns out... I have not!

The "project" I wanted to explore was something I was calling "To Catch The Predator"... obviously inspired by the old Dateline segment hosted by Chris Hansen (before he went wonky), where we'd examine all of the appearances of the weird pre-Crisis saga of... well, The Predator.  This is a character/concept that has confounded many... myself included!  I'm looking forward to picking up where we left off o'so long ago.

If you need to catch up, which considering I dropped the ball on this series about a year and a half ago you just might (I know I did!), you can check out the first two parts of this "epic" by clicking the covers below!

If/When we get a few more chapters under our belt, I'll set aside a dedicated TCAtP page in the sidebar.

Before we hop right into it, a warning.  Some of what you're about to see is explicit...ly weird.  Reader discretion is advised.

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Stop me if you've heard this one... our issue opens with Hal Jordan on his way to Oa to give the Guardians a piece of his mind... and quit the Green Lantern Corps!  Yeah, that's more or less just "Tuesday" for our man, Hal... but that's exactly what he's headin' off to do.  He thinks about how his off-world exploits have kept him from keeping Carol Ferris, the love of his life, safe.  The panel layout here makes it look like Carol's got a Ben Franklin/Void Indigo haircut.

Hal continues his space trek, all the while waxing philosophical about whether or not he's making the right choice in quitting the ring-sling.  His inner monologue is interrupted, however, when he is pummeled by an errant meteor storm.  Well, maybe it's not that errant...

Back on Earth, Carol is interviewing John Stewart to see if he'd be interested and able to repair the recently destroyed Ferris Aircraft.  She tells him he comes highly recommended, and learns that flattery will get her everywhere.  John signs on for the rebuild.

Over in Washington, D.C., all-around pain-in-the-butt Congressman Bloch is wondering what might be in his future... the Monitor (yeah, that Monitor) hasn't gotten back to him, and he worries that the Demolition Team will turn him in for contracting them to fubar Ferris.  He enters his office, and much to his surprise... he's about to have a run-in with: The Predator!

Oh yeah, he's probably unaware that the Predator is going to kill him too.  A bloody Bloch shambles out of his office... and collapses at the feet of, of all people, Diana Prince and Steve Trevor.  He whispers something about Hal Jordan being Green Lantern before perishing.  Wonder Woman insists to Steve that Bloch's last words didn't mean anything.  Fair enough...

Speaking of Hal Jordan, we rejoin him in space... where we learn the cause of that meteor storm: Hal's fellow Green Lanterns!  They know of his plans to quit the Corps, and are here to attempt to talk some sense into him.  Katma Tui takes this especially hard, and even wallops Hal with a construct-fist when it doesn't look like they're going to be able to change his mind.

All Hal can do is ask them to a) understand, and b) forgive him.  He leaves the Corpsmen on an asteroid, and continues his lonely (final?) flight to Oa.

Back in Los Angeles, we pop in on Clay Kendall's hospital room where he's recovering from a broken back.  April is there, trying to convince him that it won't be long before he's back on his feet... we get the feeling, however, that Clay ain't buyin' none of this.

Hal arrives on Oa... and is shocked to see that the Corpsmen he abandoned have beaten him here.  Tomar Re begs Hal to take this one last moment before stepping in front of the Guardians to truly consider his actions.  Hal tells 'em to bug off and barges into the Guardians' Council Room.

Of course the li'l blue guys know exactly why Hal is here... they claim that, due to recent outbursts, they've been monitoring him pretty closely.  Our man delivers the "You said 'jump'... I said 'how high'." spiel, and basically tell'em to go suck an egg.  The Guardians give him a moment to reconsider... so, dude's getting a whole lot of chances to let cooler heads prevail... but, Hal's adamant that he's doneski.

Next we know, Hal Jordan is rendered ringless and, by extension, powerless.  The rest of his Corps pals rush in... and say what might be their final goodbyes to the former "best of them".  Funny, Hal calls Arisia "little sister" here, which only makes their statutory romance all the more gross.  Looks like this is an issue with two Predators in it!

Back at Ferris, Carol's father is holding a meeting to introduce John Stewart to the team.  He also... uh, celebrates... the murder of Congressman Bloch, which... I gotta say, probably isn't the best look.  Anyhoo, the meeting is interrupted by the arrival of... a man called Smith!  Could this be our Predator?  Might it be a red herring?  Well, the story is over thirty-years old, so we already know the answer to that.

We wrap up later that evening at Carol's beach-house.  Hal arrives and lets her know that he's kicked the ring-habit and he'll never leave her again.  The story closes with Hal wondering if he's done the right thing.  If only he was given more opportunities to reconsider... right?

Our Tales of the Green Lantern Corps back up opens on the planet Lawrel-Hardee XI... which, I dunno, sounds like I place I'd definitely wanna hang out!  Probably pick up some hard-boiled eggs and nuts there.  Anyhoo, we're inside a bar that looks/feels a lot like the Star Wars cantina... where some Space Pirates are relaxing while playing some high-stakes somethin'rnother.

A little fella enters the bar, and bee-lines it over to the Pirates.  Looks like this critter's here to enforce some law, but he is shoved away by the baddies.  It's here that it's revealed that this ain't no ordinary Jawa... this is Green Lantern, Ch'p!

He's here because he witnessed the Pirates attacking and destroying a Luxury Liner in space... killing many an innocent in the name of plunduh.  Ch'p would'a taken them out right then and there... however, the Pirate Cruiser just so happened to be: Yellow!

And so, he followed them to Lawrel-Hardee XI... where he's fully prepared to beat the hell out of the lot of 'em, and well... that's exactly what he does.

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A very important issue of Green Lantern... not that Hal quitting the Corps is especially novel (though, it was more so back in ye old '84), but still... a lot of pieces were put into place here.  There's a fair amount of "soapiness" here... which, as a life-long X-Men fan, I can't help but to enjoy.

Let's get the Predator out of the way.  The character only appears on a single page, and they kill Congressman Bloch.  Later on in the issue ol' Slender Smith saunters into Ferris.  Now, I don't wanna completely spoil the reveal (even though we actually covered that issue here on the blog back in the long ago), but I gotta assume the Smith appearance was intentional to allow us to make an assumption or two about the mystery baddie.

Back in 1984, that might've been a bit underwhelming a reveal... new bad guy and similarly-sized new civilian arrive on the scene around the same time... and are revealed as being two sides of the same coin.  Feels a bit "comicbook-lazy", dunnit?  Well, if you already know the actual reveal, you'll know that it's more than a bit "comicbook-insane".

I dig John Stewart entering the "main cast" here, and I feel like having him come in as the lead architect on the Ferris-rebuild project is a very creative way to do so.  John's a great character... and I really like him taking the job even without the guarantee of a salary.

Let's get to Hal.  He's wracked with guilt over not being there for Carol and Ferris Aircraft during the Destruction Team's rampage.  Now, Hal has some trouble in the calibration department... with him, it's always "all or nothing".  Rather than attempting to reason with the Guardians... maybe pleading a case for taking a break, or whatever... he heads to Oa and pulls out the tired old "When you said 'jump'..." baloney.

We've all had jobs before right?  A boss telling you what to do is kind of part of that whole scene, innit?  I always hate it when Hal complains that he has to answer to his bosses.  Just feels petulant and immature... which, I suppose might be the point?  Anyhoo, he gets what he wants... only to realize that he might've made a terrible mistake.

Our back-up feature... which, I wasn't actually planning on covering today.  Considering we're doing Action-Plus features these days, I just figured I'd save this for a one-off.  Well, when I saw that this one had a reference to Laurel and Hardy, I decided to make an exception.  Which brings me to my main criticism: If you're going to so blatantly reference Laurel and Hardy with the title... gimme a li'l something Stan and Ollie-related in the story!

The story was... ehh, not much to get excited about.  Ch'p tracks some pirates to a bar, and beats them up.  Yay?  I will say, however, that Don Newton's take on Ch'p was awesome!  Probably the best I'd ever seen the character drawn!  With a character like Ch'p, it's easy to take it to a cartoony extreme.  Conversely, it's probably just as easy to just draw an actual squirrel wearing a green ring.  Newton, however, blends the mundane and fantastical elements of the character superbly.  I really can't say enough how amazing Ch'p looked here!  It's too bad the story was kind of a dud.

Overall, this one was well worth a look... Predator-completionism or not!  Very important chapter in pre-Crisis Green Lantern lore, with wonderful art in both features.  This issue has been collected in the first of the Sector 2814 trades and is available digitally.

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Batman #354 (1982)

Batman #354 (December, 1982)
"Showdown"
Writer - Gerry Conway
Penciller - Don Newton
Inker - Alfredo Alcala
Letterer - Ben Oda
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Len Wein
Cover Price: $0.60

Sometimes the preamble is the hardest thing to write.  It's just a sentence/paragraph... or a few, but there are some days where, I dunno... I just don't have a whole lot to say about a particular issue other than, "hey, here's a book I really wanted to read and chat about"... and, er... here we are!

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We open with Batman tearing down a wanted poster with his image on it.  This story is occurring during a time in which Peter Pauling, associate/puppet to "Boss" Rupert Thorne, is Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department.  Under his watch, Batman has been not only stripped of his GCPD Special Deputy status... he's been outlawed!  Former Commissioner James Gordon was relieved of his duties by Mayor Hamilton Hill, who is also in Thorne's pocket.  We join these two discussing the "bedlam" making Batman "Public Enemy Number One" has wrought... and speak of the devil, Batman just happens to show up to chat'em both up.

Batman's not there to fight... he just wants to let them know that he knows they (and Boss Thorne) hired Deadshot to kill him.  Pauling pulls a gun, and Batman's all "Go ahead and shoot me", knowing full well he won't.  He warns them that justice will be done... and also suggests, should he return... he may not do so alone.  After Batman leaves, Pauling pushes the panic button on his desk (that every corporate baddie seems to have), exclaiming that Batman's gotta die... which begs the question, why didn't he just pull the trigger?  I mean under this regime, Batman's looked at as an outlaw... nobody would hold it against the office.

Outside, Batman is swinging away.  The Gotham City Officers refuse to shoot Batman without first giving him the opportunity to surrender.  I suppose when you work side by side with an organization long enough, brotherhoods are forged.  All but one of the officers agree... and he unloads his rifle in Batman's direction, hitting him right between his shoulder blades!  Our man plummets into the alley below, however, by the time the police arrive he's already gone.

We shift scenes to Gotham's "Doctor's Row" Greytowers, and the home of the late Dr. Hugo Strange.  "Boss" Thorne, who at present is being haunted by the spirit of Hugo Strange... the man he'd killed, is here to take a look around the facilities.  His tour guide is Doctor Thirteen.  Upon making their way through the building's false front and into the lab, Thorne is greeted by...

Hugo Strange's buffed-out ghost!  Or, is it?  Doctor Thirteen flips the lights on, causing the "apparition" to vanish.  He notices a loose panel in the wall... removing it reveals a portable hologram projector... inside which is a Hugo Strange-flavored prism.  They deduce that Thorne is certainly being messed with, however, not by a phantom.  Thirteen asks if there might be anyone "out to get him"... and the first names Rupert can think of are Commissioner Pauling and Mayor Hill!  This way they might keep their names and reputations clean.

We next shift to the Batcave, where Alfred is about to deliver Bat-Captive, Floyd Lawton his... I dunno, dinner, I suppose.  Either that or an early breakfast.  Lawton is wearing blinder goggles, and hasn't the foggiest idea where he might be.  He's in a cell, raving... open to the chance to cut a deal with whoever is holding him there.  Before Alfred can serve his meal, a bloody Batman drags himself in.

We now move to Vicki Vale's office where her private phone line begins to ring.  She knows there's only one person who has that number... and it's Bruce Wayne.  She answers and is surprised to hear a woman's voice on the other end.  Catw-- er, the caller threatens her to stay away from Mr. Wayne.

Back with the "Boss", he is lamenting the fact that his two confidants, who he helped put in high places, have turned against him... and bemoans his own naivety, for if the situations were reversed, he might have done the same thing to save his own skin.  His internal monologue is interrupted by... Batman?  Well, if we're using the captions to identify him, we could call him "the tall man".  He stands by silently while Thorne... pretty much confesses everything.

I should probably mention that upon seeing "the tall man", Thorne threw down his decanter of brandy... right in front of the roaring fireplace.  If you're thinking that was a stupid thing to do... you'd be right!  Before we know it, the room is engulfed in flames, and by the time "the tall man" gets his bearings, "Boss" Thorne's already flown the coop.

While the fire department is dealing with the raging inferno, we shift scenes back to our pals Pauling and Hill.  The Commish is reading Officer McClosky (the one that told the officers to stand down earlier) the riot act.  Mayor Hill, it would appear, is starting to regret getting wrapped up in this mess.  Suddenly, a soaking wet (it is a rainy Gotham night) "Boss" Thorne arrives, and he's pointing his piece right at the perceived turncoats.  The Mayor pleads with him to calm down... but Thorne just ain't having none'a that.

And so, Thorne shoots Commissioner Peter Pauling... in the face!  Mayor Hill dives to the floor, and Officer McClosky fires a defensive round into the Boss's gut.  Thorne collapses to the floor just as "the tall man" arrives on the scene.

McClosky takes aim at "the tall man", but is kayoed for his troubles.  Mayor Hill pleads innocence in this whole mess... because, hell... it's not like Pauling's in the mood to dispute that, being dead and all.  Gotta say, for a dude who was shot in the face, he leaves a rather handsome (and clean) corpse!  The Mayor informs "the tall man" that he will reinstate his deputy status and drop all charges against him... further pinning the whole shebang on perforated Peter.

We wrap up with an epilogue.  "The tall man" calls in to Wayne Manor, and unmasks revealing himself to be... ya know, Robin... duh.  Not sure if unmasking in public is all that great an idea... but whattayagonnado?  It's also revealed that he was wearing a "bat wire" hoping to catch the corruptees in some self-incriminating chatter.

Dick: "Did I make a good stand-in for the Batman, Bruce?"
Bruce: "D-Did you... just take the cowl off in public?"

The epilogue, and the issue, concludes with the revelation that the person behind Thorne's descent into paranoia and mental-collapse was, in fact... the not-so-late (well, maybe late to dinner), Dr. Hugo Strange!

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I always enjoy a good "Batman vs. the Police" type story.  It's weird to see the Gotham City Police depicted as being corrupt (at least the Commish, anyway).  I'd always attributed GCPD corruption as a post-Crisis concept... like, Year One and beyond type'a thing.  It's always fun make new discoveries and come to the realization that my perceptions may have been clouded by a narrative rather than content.

I've read a few Batman stories from this time period, and am always impressed with their quality.  I've said it before (and, knowing me... I'll say it many more times) but in my younger days, I always discounted pre-Crisis DC (outside of New Teen Titans) as being interchangeable one-off stories with nebulous-at-best continuity between 'em.  Seeing the Batbooks as being so tightly knit really exemplifies to me how wrong I was.  This is a good thing in that it makes me really wanna "go deep" and read a whole lot more.

Now the issue itself... my Rupert Thorne experience was all based on the Animated Series.  If I recall, those were some of the less-fun episodes for me growing up, as they didn't normally feature any of the "big" bad guys.  I think Thorne works a whole lot better in the comics... and I really appreciate the way he was depicted in this story.  An illustration that someone so powerful can also be so fragile.  The more people you "use", the more you fear you yourself are being used.  Hugo Strange "apparitions" aside, this was a really neat study in paranoia... and, best of all... it didn't overstay its welcome.

I'd figure if this story was written today, we'd get three issues of Thorne standing by a window, looking into the rainy Gotham night... pondering.  We'd get skatey-eight hundred flashbacks to learn what makes him "tick"... we'd see that his father was mean to him growing up... told him he'd never amount to anything... maybe even took the belt to him a time or two.  By the end of it, we'd be sympathizing with the "Boss", and feel kinda gutted when he gets arrested.  The writer would fall in love with the character, and six months later he'd become a trusted confidant to the Batman.

Well, that paragraph kinda got away from me... ahem.  Like I said, the depiction of paranoia here was neat.  Now, let's add the "prism" of Hugo Strange.  This was skillfully done too... as it, in essence, removed Strange from the list of folks out to get Thorne.  Thorne was so tunnel-visioned on Hugo, that when he learned that he was being "haunted" by a hologram, his mind began racing.  He now needed to know who was not only behind the "hauntings", but also why anyone would be messing with him so.  Really nice bit of storytelling there, if not a touch convenient.

I still think it was kinda weird that Pauling didn't just kill Batman in the office... or, ya know... try to, and get socked in the face for his troubles.  Especially when just three panels after lowering his gun, he presses the "kill" button on his desk.  So weird.

Speaking of weird... Robin, baby... don't remove the cowl in public.  What are you thinking?  I know "we" (readers) needed the reveal... but c'mon, if there was anybody reading this who didn't figure it out, you really didn't deserve a reveal.  I mean, the captions were careful not to refer to him as "Batman" a single time... he was just "the tall man".

The art here is unbelievable.  Don Newton is an artist I've somehow slept on... but, damn I really enjoy his take on everything here.  He's just a great "Gotham" artist... hell, just a great artist, period.  This was a beautiful book... and it's added another line of "grab whatever you can by this artist" to my ever-growing list.

Overall... I had a lot of fun with this one, and I'm sure most Batfans would too.  For your convenience, this issue is available digitally... and if they ever get around to a Tales of the Batman: Don Newton, Volume 2 it might show up there too!

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