Batman #596 (December, 2001)
"City on Fire"
Writer - Ed Brubaker
Pencils - Scott McDaniel
Inks - Aaron Sowd
Colors - Roberta Tewes
Separations - WildStorm FX
Letters - John Costanza
Associate Editor - Michael Wright
Editor - Bob Schreck
Cover Price: $2.25
Okay, we've got a strange one today... not necessarily Christmas themed, per say... but features a homicidal Santa Claus! Er, make that Santa Klaus.
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So, the Joker did that whole prison riot thing at The Slab which led to plenty of baddies escaping into the world. From there, he'd do the same thing over at Arkham Asylum... so, now there are a bunch more not-safe-for-the-streets types prowling Gotham City. One of whom is a fella they call Santa Klaus. He dresses up like Santa, ya see... he also speaks with a thick German accent. This guy really seems to think he's Santa Claus, and takes the "Naughty List" deadly serious... which is probably the reason he was locked up in Arkham.
As Klaus deals with a motorist's carbon footprint, Batman is across town fighting his way through a burning building. He's following the voice of, what he believes to be, a trapped civilian. What it turns out being is a corpse with a tape-player strapped to its chest.
So yeah, whole thing was a trap! Batman grabs the body, and bursts out a nearby window before the place goes boom.
Shortly, Batman is chatted up by Detective Montoya... and another guy, maybe Crispus Allen... though, I thought it was a little while until he showed up. Either way, it ain't Bullock. Batman reveals that the body belonged to a fella named Yuri Kalanikov, a lieutenant in the Odessa Mob, and the third of their number to fall in the past couple weeks. Batman is certain that Lew Moxon is behind this.
We shift scenes to Moxon associate, Mr. Zeiss. At least I think he was still Moxon's associate/bodyguard at this point. Either way, he's informed that Batman survived the bomb... and he's not surprised, after all... it is Batman. He gazes out the window using a pair of binoculars, and we learn the next step in his plan. He's planning on killing another Odessa Mobster, Gregor Popavich when he goes out to dinner with his young daughter. Zeiss confirms this with his Russian hostage, Dmitri.
We rejoin Santa Klaus as the Batmobile roars past him. He considers punishing him for speeding, but decides to take a nap in a dumpster instead.
Some time passes, and a bunch of nogoodniks happen across the dumpster dweller, and decide to push him down a hill and into traffic! This doesn't end up well for anyone.
We pop back over to Batman, who is in position for Zeiss's assassination attempt on Popavich. Zeiss is also in position, and has taken a few extra measures to ensure this all goes down according to plan. He has a sniper... and a bomb!
No sooner do Popavich and his young daughter emerge from their ride, does Zeiss leap into action. Batman follows suit.
Before Batman can nab the baddie, Zeiss grabs Popavich's daughter by the scruff of her neck and threatens to kill her if anybody moves. Zeiss turns to Batman and informs him that, no matter what his next move is... somebody is going to die. Either he'll break the girl's neck... or his sniper will take out Popavich.
Popavich pleads with Zeiss to kill him and let his daughter go, but before we can see how this would've played out, Santa Klaus has come to town!
The distraction is enough so that Batman can dive over to the girl and get her to safety.
The sniper finally takes his shot, and winds up winging Santa in the shoulder. Now, it's down to just Batman and Zeiss.
Or, it would be... if not for that bomb Zeiss had planted as a back-up.
In the explosion, our man Zeiss manages to get away. Moments later, the GCPD arrive on the scene, and when Popavich is asked for a statement, he claims that his "eyes were closed" the entire time. Whatta jackass.
We wrap up with Santa Klaus being loaded into an ambulance where he tells the EMTs that they've both been "gΓΌt boys".
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Ya know, I hate using this small forum as a way to complain about current comics and the culture around them... buuuuuut, issues like this make me miss when we could get a Batman book that just told a good story, and wasn't trying to be (and being ridiculously lauded as) an "instant classic". Though in fairness, I suppose if "retweets" were a thing back in ye old 2001, this one probably would've been hailed as such too.
What we have here is a pretty seamless way to tie into the Joker's Last Laugh crossover event, while keeping Batman's story moving forward. Sometimes tie-ins result in a book's narrative being derailed for a time... here, however... it's not much of a hindrance at all! We get a page of Jokery exposition to open the issue, and from there we're off to the races! Really well done!
It is a bit of a breezy issue, a quick read... but, it's from the 21st Century, so I'm not really expecting more than a few good scenes. Scott McDaniel's art is really nice... though, for whatever reason, I prefer him on Nightwing. I'll say he's a better fit here than on the Superman books though!
Overall... like I said above, not a Christmas issue... per say. So, if you're in a holly jolly mood, this one might not scratch that itch. Though, if you're just looking for a good (if brief) story, this might be right up your alley. This issue is available digitally.
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Joker: Last Laugh #1 (December, 2001)
"stir crazy"
Writers - Chuck Dixon & Scott Beatty
Penciller - Pete Woods
Inker - Andrew Pepoy
Letterer - Willie Schubert
Colorist - Tom McCraw
Separations - Digital Chameleon
Assistant Editor - Nachie Castro
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.95
Today we're going to discuss the opening chapter in the first line-wide DC Comics crossover that I went "all in" on. I'd been "in the thick of it" for awhile at this point, but there were still a handful of books I never would have grabbed if not for the Joker's Last Laugh branding. There's no way I would have grabbed titles like Azrael: Agent of the Bat, Harley Quinn, or Orion otherwise... so, this story was a pretty big deal for me. It's a time in my collecting-career I remember fondly... things felt new, exciting, and fresh... and, ahem, I found a way to put my "disposable income" to use.
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We open up at a crab shack in Maryland where Barbara Gordon has begrudgingly joined Dick Grayson for a day out of town. There's no beef between the two, it's just that she doesn't feel right being away from her Oracle duties... after all, she is the point of contact for just about every hero in the universe. Dick's all "you need this" and asks how useful she'd be if she went and got herself burnt out. It's hard to argue, but at the same time it reeks of justification. I tell myself from time to time that "I'm working too hard" to justify treating myself... but that's neither here nor there.
We shift over to Slabside Penitentiary where the Joker has just been informed that he has a terminal brain tumor, and isn't long for this world. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest idea to tell someone like the Joker that he's got absolutely nothing to lose, but whattayagonnado?
Well, the Joker's going to die... he knows he's going to die... so, what now? If you guessed "Prison Riot", you win the kewpie! A prison riot that Dick and Babs would have known about if not for the crab shack changing the channel on their television.
Back in Gotham at the Clock Tower, Black Canary arrives to check in with and share a Thai meal with Barbara... but, as we know, she's not home. Dinah heads into the communication room and sees the news of the riot... and sees that the Joker is behind the whole thing!
All of the Slabside inmates are wearing restraining collars, and through them, the guards can induce a measure of bodily effects... including extreme nausea. The guards are advised to, gulp, "prime the regurgitants" which just sounds foul. While many of the inmates rush to the nearest vomit-depository, the Joker stumbles across the one fella he's been looking for... Multi-Man!
We rejoin Dinah and learn she has enlisted the aid of Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, who at this point was a semi-retired on-again/off-again associate of the Birds of Prey. He was usually depicted as having a little bit of a paunch belly during this era, however, he looks lean and mean here... that ab-rocker must really work! They are on board the Bug and fast approaching the Slab. Canary says she'll hit the ground first to perform some recon.
Inside the Slab, Shiloh Norman flanked by a crew of elite guards are on the crawl. They learn that Warden Zimmer is currently trying to facilitate a surrender from the rioting inmates... which is probably not the best idea. It's here that we learn that the guards weren't aware that the Joker was behind the whole thing, as the shapeshifting Chiller had been lounging in his cell during the proceedings. Norman produces a Mother Box as a backdoor should things go "ca-ca". Oh yeah, he's the third Mister Miracle, by the way.
Back with Babs and Dick... they just can't seem to stop talking about "work". Barbara makes some salient points about the hypocrisy of the Bat-Family of crimefighters and the nature of good versus bad. She contends that if the bad guys are willing to kill... the good guys should at least consider it, if in the long run it will save more innocent lives. Dick's all "we don't do revenge", neglecting that what they do every night is pretty much just that. She contends that she was the only person to join "the party" without an axe to grind, and wound up being the worst for wear. What it comes down to is... she wants the Joker dead. Understandable... I'm guessing if I lived on DC Earth, I'd probably feel a lot safer if the Joker was six-feet under as well.
Back in the Slab, Joker's got Multi-Man pinned down. Now, ya see... back in the day, Multi-Man drank something called Liquid Light. This granted him the "power" to be reborn with a new set of superpowers every time he dies. Well, the Joker needs a very specific power, so it looks like poor Duncan's in for a lonnnnnng night. The Joker kills him over and over again... once (somehow) with an electric mixer... which is pretty gross.
After almost a hundred deaths, Multi-Man finally makes himself useful. The Joker approaches the rest of the rioters, and has his new toy burn a hole in the ground to drop them to the floor below. Then, for good measure, he kills Multi-Man again.
The baddies are now in the "K" block, where they keep the "baddest of the bad"... I guess this was an off year for the Joker if they weren't keeping him there as well! Norman is tracking their movement, and posits that they are looking to spring Dr. Polaris!
Black Canary is working her way through the ventilation system recording everything for Oracle's review. Warden Whatshisface attempts to continue his search for prison diplomacy, but runs into a brick wall... in the form of the immovable Black Mass. The Warden informs his guards to prepare the metagene inhibitor gas for the baddies in cell block K.
Speaking of whom, we shift to Doctor Polaris's wooden (nice touch) cell. The Hellgrammite nibbles his way through the ceiling so Joker and Company may enter. Joker produces Multi-Man... again, now in a minuscule form. MM hops into Polaris's collar and pops that sucker open. He then uses his own electromagnetic powers to pop the collars on his new running buddies.
Moments later, the K-Ward is flushed with the inhibitor gas... which Joker was counting on. Ya see, he knew they would first try the, bleargh "puke gas"... and knew that Regurgitant + Metagene Inhibitor = Well, a lotta laughing bad guys. Seems poor planning for a prison to have a pair of chemicals the mix in such a way, but whattayagonnado? This also tells us that this has gotta be the first time this place had a riot, right?
We pop back over to Dinah as she springs herself from the vents... where she is met by... well, you know.
Back in Gotham City, Babs and Dick return to the Clock Tower, where the latter is still going on about how much the former needed a day away from the grind. Welp, looks like you picked the wrong day, pal... because while you were stuffin' your faces with crab, some bad stuff was going down.
We close out with Norman weighing their options... knowing that they will need to contain these jokerized baddies. We end with the sight of Batman surveying the house o' ha-ha's.
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Kind of a mixed bag here.
Let's see... we can start with the Joker, I suppose. We learn that he's terminally ill, which is an interesting wrinkle to be sure... but, what can you expect to happen when you tell someone who already acts with abandon that he's got nothing to lose? If in the same position, I'm not sure I'd have told him. That's kinda like asking for a riot... right? The Joker's a pretty dramatic dude... why wouldn't he want to go out "in a blaze of glory", so to speak?
I do appreciate the Joker being depicted as a cartoonier baddie here. It seems these days we can't escape super-serious Joker stories... it's pretty nice to just have him acting silly. If this were written today, we'd get brutal scenes of each guard's families being slaughtered and posed on the couch for discovery or something.
That's not to say the Joker's not deadly here... I mean, hell... he kills Multi-Man like a hundred times! Speaking of which, that was a really neat bit. Stands to reason if you're reborn with new superpowers, you might find yourself a useful tool for a psychopath with designs on chaos. The scene of endless deaths, was gruesome in a cartoony way that didn't really distract from the tone of the story.
The mixing of chemicals that "Jokerized" the inmates... that was kinda weird, right? I mean, it looks like the Warden was just following their normal riot-containing protocol. Ya start with the regurgitants... and work up to metagene inhibition. If the Jokerization is the result of those two chemicals missing, it would stand to reason that every meta-riot would result in a whole lotta pale faces and laughter, right? I suppose this might be the first to get to this level. So weird.
It was neat seeing Shiloh Norman here. I can guarantee the first time I read this, I hadn't the foggiest idea who he was. Reading it back now, I just love how intermingled the various aspects of the DC Universe is/was.
Onto Babs and Dick. I dunno, they both felt a bit "off" here. I never think of Barbara (of this era) as a particularly bitter character... though, if she were, it would be justifiable. She always struck me as (perhaps too) optimistic... and fulfilled in her work. Hearing her thoughts on wanting the Joker dead, while... again, justifiable, don't ring true.
I can see Dick wanting to give Barbara a "day off", but I really don't see a fella as "prepared" as he is, going completely dark. I mean, you'd figure that they might have a mobile device of some sort that informs them when a huge alarm begins sounding at the Clock Tower, right? Just seems out of character/irresponsible for both of them to go completely "off the grid"... at least without a contingency plan. I mean, Dinah didn't know Babs was taking the day off, and they were partners! From what little I remember from the way this event ends, the out-of-character moments are just beginning.
The art was pretty good. This isn't the Pete Woods of today, and definitely feels like it's taking a bit from the animated series style. The villains all look great (and we do get a bunch of neat villain cameos!), as do Blue Beetle and Black Canary. Dick and Babs look like they were storing some of the crabs they dined on in their cheeks though. Just another example of their being "off"... at least to me.
Overall, this is an okay issue/story/event. Not one I'd say you need to rush out to track down or anything, but a serviceable Batman/Bat-Family romp. It is available digitally and has been collected in trade paperback.
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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JSA #29 (December, 2001)
"Kids"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Artist - Peter Snejbjerg
Letterer - Ken Lopez
Colorist - John Kalisz
Separations - Heroic Age
Assistant Editors - Morgan & Dontanville
Editor - Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
It's a very Grundy Halloween for Star-Spangled Kid and Jakeem Thunder.
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It's Halloween night, and the Flash, Green Lantern and Wildcat are off to find the rest of the missing Justice Society. This being a rather dangerous task, they have decided to leave their two youngest members behind this evening. Star-Spangled Kid and Jakeem Thunder are tasked with not only holding down the fort... but getting along as well!
The kids argue a bit over "who's in charge" and "who is babysitting who" until JSA Museum curator Alex enters the room. He's dressed as Sonny Bono (the date that stood him up was set to be Cher), and he invites the duo to help him hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Suddenly, there is a loud crash... not only did Alex's pumpkin get smashed... the Jokerized head of the Statue of Liberty has just landed in the middle of their street!
Spectators begin to appear... all surveying just what in the hell is going on. Lady Liberty's face is painted up like the Joker's... now who would do such a thing? Perhaps a fella who was born on a Monday...
Grundy nabs Jakeem and nyoinks his magical pen from his pocket. This pen is where Thunderbolt... lives? Like, when Jakeem clicks the pen... Thunderbolt shows up. Courtney gives Grundy a helluva kick, knocking him into a subway entrance. Jakeem runs off after him, as he's got his pen-djinn... when a subway car comes flying out from underground... narrowly missing the boy, and crashing into the severed head of Liberty.
Courtney kind of makes light of Jakeem's loss. She thinks he's upset that Thunderbolt is his only "power"... Jakeem corrects her and states that Thunderbolt is not only his power... but his friend... Courtney... is kind of a jerk to him about that, giving him the dreaded "whatever". Perhaps as a defense mechanism, Jakeem starts razzing Court about her dad being a super-hero, and that being the only reason she's even on the team. She corrects him... it's her step-father. Her dad ran out on them many years prior. Jakeem is all "well, I'd leave if you were my daughter too". There's that line ya probably shouldn't cross kid. He clearly realizes this as well, as he tries to rescind it immediately.
The pair reach the tracks, and its not long before Grundy creeps up behind them. Star-Spangled Kid unloads a torrent of "shooting stars" at the beast, before noting that since Grundy is... ya know... dead, her nerve-based powers are kinda worthless. When all seems lost, Jakeem manifests a can of spraypaint... and empties it into Sol's face. The monster relinquishes the pen... but the boy bobbles it right into a sewer grate.
Grundy turns his attention toward Courtney once more. Jakeem sticks his fingers into the grate... but the pen is just out of reach. Then... a little trickle of electricity forms between his fingertip and the pen... the pen somehow rises from the grate, and Jakeem is able to push that magic clicker.
The lad instructs Thunderbolt to "burn Solomon Grundy from the inside out"... and he does!
Once that's outta the way, Jakeem asks T-Bolt to re-affix the Statue of Liberty's dome to her body. As this is occurring, the kids take a moment to kind of clear the air. They both apologize for... ya know, acting like children. Jakeem mentions that he wishes he could speak to Johnny (Thunder) to get a better understanding of his pink electrical pal. At this point in time, Johnny Thunder was afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease... and certainly not able to conduct himself on the front lines of superherodom. We learn that Jakeem's middle name is Johnny here as well, which is a neat touch.
Speaking of Johnny... we wrap up with a visit to a... skilled nursing home, perhaps. Where Mr. Thunder has left his room. There is a doctor nearby, who is flabbergasted. Apparently Johnny has somehow made a full recovery! We close out with Johnny telling a nurse that he's going home.
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Man... I've said it before, and I'll say it again... there's gotta be some day in the far-flung future where I'll have all the time in the world to read though my library. I remember absolutely adoring this run of JSA... and even just dipping my toe back in with this issue, all those feelings came rushing back. Such an awesome book... such a great time at DC.
Well... maybe not a completely great time at DC... this was, after all part of the Joker's Last Laugh crossover. (Most) Every title in DC's line-up took part... and featured "Jokerized" villains. I thought it was fairly horrid then... though, I'll admit... I haven't read it since. Perhaps a reread would tell me something different.
Never been a big Grundy guy... maybe if I grew up on Super Friends cartoons I'd dig him a bit more. I always... for whatever reason, conflate him with Bizarro. Like I see "Me am hate you" coming out of his mouth. So, yeah... never really gave a toss about 'im. Here, I feel he was a great fit. It's a Halloween story starring a pair of kids... he's a decent enough monster.
The whole fighty-fighty bit is just the backdrop for the wonderful character work between Courtney and Jakeem. They are the only kids on the team... I suppose it would make a bit of sense for them to be at odds. It's a great done in one, and helps bring the pair together... they now have a better respect for one another, and maybe even understand it was their own respective insecurity that kept them from bonding sooner. It's interesting... they have, at the same time... a whole bunch in common, and nothing in common at all. Man... this was a great series.
Overall, as if I hadn't made my position clear yet... this entire volume of JSA is something DC Comics fans should definitely check out.
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