NML Crossing, Episode 075 - Detective Comics #734 (1999)

NML Crossing, Episode Seventy-Five

Detective Comics #734 (July, 1999)
“Mark of Cain, Part Two”
Writer - Kelley Puckett
Pencils - Damion Scott
Inks - John Floyd
Colors - Greg Wright
Letters - Todd Klein
Edits - Illidge, Vincenzo, O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99

Wrapping up The Mark of Cain with a sorta-kinda passing of the torch... and a Batman who's just about ready to call in the reserves!

The Bada-Bin!

NML Crossing on Youtube

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NML Crossing, Episode 074 - Batman #567 (1999)

NML Crossing, Episode Seventy-Four

Batman #567 (July, 1999)
“Mark of Cain, Part One”
Writer - Kelley Puckett
Pencils - Damion Scott
Inks - John Floyd
Colors - Greg Wright
Letters - Todd Klein
Edits - Illidge, Vincenzo, O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99

Who's that girl? Today we get introduced to that family Cain... David and his young (unnamed as of yet) daughter. I'm sure we'll never see either of them ever again. People always fall through the cracks in No Man's Land!

The Bada-Bin!

NML Crossing on Youtube

https://gothamquake.com

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

NML Crossing, Episode 069 - Batman #566 (1999)

NML Crossing, Episode Sixty-Nine

Batman #566 (June, 1999)
“The Visitor”
Writer - Kelley Puckett
Pencils - Jon Bogdanove
Inks - Eduardo Barreto
Colors - Richard & Tanya Horie
Letters - Willie Schubert & John Costanza
Edits - Illidge, Gorfinkel, O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99

In which a strange visitor arrives in Gotham City to try his hand at saving the place... only to find out that he might just be completely out of his element. Superman puts a band-aid on a broken bone and expects it to set!

The Bada-Bin!

NML Crossing on Youtube

https://gothamquake.com

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

NML Crossing, Episode 011 - Batman Chronicles #12 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Eleven

Batman Chronicles #12 (Spring, 1998)
"The Contract"
"House of Cards"
"Trapped"
"A Bird With a Hand"
"Love Me 2 Times"
"Little Orphan Andy"
Writers - Devin Grayson, Chris Renaud, Rick Burchett, Klaus Janson, & Kelley Puckett
Pencils/Art - Marcos Martin, Chris Renaud, Alex Maleev, Rick Burchett, & Klaus Janson
Inks - Vince Giarrano, Bob McLeod, & Bill Sienkiewicz
Colors - Lee Loughridge, Ian Laughlin, Jason Wright, Grant Goleash, & Noelle Giddings
Letters - Ken Lopez & Clem Robins
Edits - Vincenzo & Gorfinkel
Cover Price: $2.95

Welcome to Anthology Land, where we can take a peek into how some of the non-Bat-characters are handling the "new normal" post-the verybadthing that happened at 7:03pm.  It's very much a 90s anthology... so, prepare for a very "your mileage may vary" experience!

Plus: A thought-provoking NMaiLbag

For those playing along at home, the rest of this week's books are:

• Nightwing #20
• Batman #554
• Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1
• Detective Comics #721

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

Batman Adventures #20 (1994)

Batman Adventures #20 (May, 1994)
"Smells Like Black Sunday"
Writer - Kelley Puckett
Penciller - Mike Parobeck
Inker - Rick Burchett
Colorist - Rick Taylor
Lettering - Richard Starkings/Comicraft
Assistant Editor - Darren Vincenzo
Editor - Scott Peterson
Cover Price: $1.50

Happy April Fool's Day!

Decided to give our Patron Saint of the "holiday" Mr. Mxyzptlk the day off, so we might instead check in with some other fools in an issue of Batman Adventures.

While we're discussing Batman, I do want to mention that I'd been turned on to a new (to me) podcast this week via a shout-out during an episode from our friends at Warlord Worlds.  It's called Bat-Books for Beginners and is hosted at The Batman Universe.  The hosts Chris and Gerry put on a great show that I believe would prove interesting and inviting to actual bat-book-beginners, while also being entertaining to we seasoned folks.  Even though we're no longer in #trypod month (I just found out #trypod was a thing yesterday!), this show is still worth giving a try.

Anyhoo, onward!

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We open in the prison cafeteria where Mastermind, Mr. Nice, and the Perfesser are planning their escape.  Unfortunately for them, it's not like they're just gonna walk out of jail... so, they're going to need a diversion.  And, so... the Perfessor stands up and calmly says "Fire."  The resulting riot facilitates their procuring a gun from a prison guard, with which... Mr. Nice can shoot out the power lines.  So far, so good... right?

The Perfessor uses his computeresque brain to easily guide the trio through the darkness... and out of the prison via a convenient sewer pipe.  Their first breaths of free air are short-lived, as they find themselves surrounded by some rather angry (and rabid) looking dogs.  Mastermind tries getting the pistol from Mr. Nice so he can... ya know, kill the pups.  Mr. Nice, being a nice guy, ain't feeling it.  During the tussle, the Perfessor grabs a stick and whittles it into a flute.  After giving it a toot, the dogs vamoose.

It isn't long before the escaped convicts rob a bank and run afoul of a certain caped crusader.  Luckily, Mastermind is at the wheel for this getaway, though, we appear to be missing Mr. Nice.  Anyhoo, Mastermind has accounted for just about everything that might go wrong.  The tires are batarang-proof... and he has devised a route with which they will be able to elude capture.

They cut through an intersection just as the light turns red, and figure that Batman's going to at least have to stop to allow traffic to cross.  What Mastermind failed to take into consideration was the Batmobile being equipped with nitrous oxide.  Batman is able to blow through the intersection with ease... and remains on the baddie's tail.

Mastermind tries calling the police from the car in order to divert their attention elsewhere... however, this doesn't quite work out.  After nearly t-boning another car, our baddies skid to a stop.  Batman arrives moments later for the pick-up.  Mastermind, who is counting down to zero, doesn't seem terribly bothered.  He scoffs at Batman, claiming that he's "too late".

Batman asks just what in the world Mastermind is going on about, and it is explained that Mr. Nice is currently at Fort Bragg procuring nuclear warheads.  Hmm, sounds legit.  Anyhoo, Mastermind made Nice promise not to be... nice, until after midnight.  Meaning until then, he'd be fine just blowing fools away, right?

Well, as it turns out... yeah!  We join Mr. Nice as he infiltrates Fort Bragg... and dude is budda-budda-budda'ing at everything that moves!  He busts inside, and goes nuts with the gunfire.

That is, until he runs into a teeny tiny puppy.

We wrap up our tale... right where we started it, the prison cafeteria.  Our boys are huddled around the same table... until Mr. Nice and the Perfesser can't take any more of Mastermind's crazy schemes.  They abandon him, leaving him to rant all by his lonesome... that is, until some inmates get tired of hearing the geek go on.  We close out with the Mastermind deposited in a garbage can!

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I totally slept on this series when it was coming out.  I think the X-Men Adventures tie-in comic kinda ruined me on animated series books.  I just always looked at these as low-priority "cheap" books the companies put out to cash in on unwitting parents who might wanna pick up a mag for their kids.  I'm still not convinced I'm wrong... but, I gotta say... this was a fun read!

Let's start with the art.  I'm sure I'm not the first fella to extol the virtues of the late Mike Parobeck.  The dude was great... his work here looks effortless, and yet... painstaking.  Not sure if that makes any sense... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would have to work mighty hard to make my work look so perfectly simple.

The "animated style" isn't one that I always cotton to.  We discussed an issue of Adventures in the DC Universe last year, which had similar art... and I really didn't dig it.  I think Parobeck makes all the difference to me.  His work just comes off as first-rate... and not as an artist trying to make their work look "DC animated", you follow?

The story was... silly, and light.  Perfectly fine, and as I'd mentioned, perfectly fun.  I like that the story's focus was on the baddies.  It offered a different and novel perspective, and allowed us to explore the fellas' quirks and idiosyncrasies.  In doing a bit of research, I've learned that Mastermind and Mr. Nice are both established characters in the DC Universe... with Mastermind showing up in an early Challengers of the Unknown story.  Mr. Nice has actually showed up in post-Rebirth Nightwing comics... which is pretty neat.  The Perfessor appears to be an original character for the animated series, and seems to have been based somewhat on Denny O'Neil.  How fun is that?

Overall, this is a light, fun Batman story... that Batman doesn't really loom all that large in.  I'd say if you are a hard-copy fan (like I am), this might be worth it at cover price and below.  Wouldn't recommend paying much more than that.  If you're not like me and digital comics don't make your teeth itch, this issue has been made available in that format.  Worth a look.

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Letters Page:

 

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Batgirl #1 (2000)

Batgirl #1 (April, 2000)
Co-Plotter - Scott Peterson
Co-Plotter & Script - Kelley Puckett
Penciller - Damion Scott
Inker - Robert Campanella
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Jason Wright
Separations - Jamison
Associate Editor - Joseph Illidge
Editor - Darren Vincenzo
Cover Price: $2.50

How crazy is it that it took until 2000 for the first volume of a Batgirl comic book to launch... unless of course, I'm mistaken... at which time I'll look quite foolish, however, to my knowledge this is the first ever ongoing Batgirl series.  

This one really wasn't on my radar when it was on the shelves.  The only issues in my collection were the ones that tied in with Bat-family crossovers like Bruce Wayne: Fugitive/Murderer.  In the years since, I did become a bit curious about this book... but, I gotta tell ya, it isn't often I come across this series in the wild.  Just today while browsing a local buck-a-book room, I lucked across this first issue.  Let's give it a look and a chat.

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We open in flashback mode.  A group of blindfolded thugs are led into a dojo where they find themselves faced with the threat of... a young girl.  This girl is Cassandra Cain, and her "father" David is there setting up a camera to tape the "performance" to come.  One of the thugs notes that they have been assembled atop a sheet of plastic... that's curious, right?  Cassandra stabs a knife into the mat, and David invites any thug to pick it up and try to cut his daughter.  They refuse... and, well... Cassandra brutally beats them all.  I mean, it's bloody... and there's teeth everywhere.  

In the present, we join a teenage Cassandra as she spars with Oracle, Barbara Gordon at the Clocktower.  It's a escrima stick battle... and it's a tough one.  Babs is just barely able to disarm our girl.  She tells Cassandra that she needs more practice, and wheels away scoffing at the "unstoppable killing machine" reputation Batman had given her.

We stick with Barbara for awhile as she updates her Oracle computer files.  She designates the name "Batgirl" to Cassandra, and updates her own file to read "Original Batgirl" or "Old Batgirl" depending on whatever caption you wanna believe.  We learn that Cassandra was born to unknown parents and trained from birth to be an assassin.  She ran away at age nine, and drifted from place to place.  Here we also get a shot of the terrifying new Batgirl costume.

Back in flashbackland, we watch as a man with a scar swipes a bottle from a transient.  This gets a bit sketchy from here... I can't quite follow it myself, but I'll give it a go.  A drifting Cassandra shows up, and scarface appears to recognize her... I think.  He breaks the bottle and brandishes it in her direction.  After standing still for a moment, she flees.  The scarred fella starts laughing... but then suddenly drops to his knees and sobs.  Wha?  I'll include the entire two-page bit, you be the judge.  I'm guessing he was probably a guy that David had her fight... and she will likely be responsible for the scarring... but it wasn't terribly clear right off the bat (pun probably intended).

Back in the present, we observe a man attempting to sexually (?) assault a woman.  I think it's a sexual thing, as he tells her not to "fight it"... and calls her "baby" a few times.  Looks like we found our pitch-perfect first baddie for our new Batgirl, eh?

Or for Batgirl to distract so BatMAN can bust the dude up.

It's now daytime, and Cassandra (who I really want to call "Cassie", but I don't think that'd be right for this gal) is plucking petals off of a flower.  Barbara enters and invites her out for a trip to the park.  At the park, Babs tries to get into our little protagonist's head.  This doesn't go all that well... Cassandra runs away.

At night, Batman comes to the Clocktower to check in on his potential new charge.  We get a bit more information on Cassandra's past... or at least more detailed info.  David Cain was experimenting with infants... kept them in isolation, and deprived them of human speech... with the thought that the brain would adapt so that it would view physicality as a language onto itself... which it kind of already is for people not raised by psychopaths.  Anyhoo... this allows Cassandra the ability to foretell what an opponent may do before even they do.  Barbara comments on her talent with the escrima sticks, which causes Batman to smile... he'd only trained her with them for five minutes.

We now join Batman and Batgirl sparring.  Bruce feels that Cassandra is taking it easy on him, and encourages her to go all-out... and so she does.  Following a barrage, Batman comments on the girl being "out of shape".  That is, until he begins coughing up blood.  This pleases him... however, there's no time to celebrate because something is about to go down.

It's an armored car robbery!  Batgirl swoops in and starts scaring fools into submission... like really... she swats a dude's gun away then just scares him off.  Really going for that pacifism trophy, eh?  Well... no, because the next fella is one she's gonna have to fight... and wouldn'tcha know it... he's got a scar on his face!  She tells him to shut up... which makes him realize who she is...

Later, Batman gives her the "job well done" shtick and they share a relatively touching moment as Batgirl touches the side of Batman's cheek.  This really seems to freak our man out.

We wrap up as the film from the beginning of the issue ends.  We come to find that David Cain has been taking a stroll down memory lane while his "daughter" matures into a Gotham vigilante.

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Yeah... really liked this one.  Right off the bat, I'll get this out of the way... this is one that makes me feel homesick.  The Bat-family at the turn of the century was such a great little (?) corner of the DC Universe.  Between the main book(s), the sidekick books, and Birds of Prey... there was plenty of good reading to be had.  This Batgirl fits into that mold quite well.

If I'm not mistaken Cassandra Cain first surfaced during No Man's Land, and we were not privy to her origins or motivations... though, I might be wrong there.  I do know that this is most certainly not her first appearance.  Here we get a bit of her backstory, and a very helpful expositional conversation between Batman and Oracle to help fill in some blanks.

Writing and pacing (outside that broken bottle scene) were well done.  The fact that Cassandra is more or less mute really speaks to the quality of storytelling... again, discounting the broken bottle bit.  The art... is spotty.  There are pages that look amazing, and others where Cassandra's head/face looks really blocky and just not right.  The Batgirl outfit, on the other hand... looks awesome.  It almost has a symbiotic spider-suit kinda look... or like Spawn's cape... it's as though she's wearing liquid, and it looks really quite striking.  It's almost something out of a horror book... and I really love it.

I am woefully behind in my Rebirth reading, but I believe Ms. Cain is part of the Detective Comics cast, so this is actually a book that contemporary readers may get something from... outside the great story, that is.  Definitely worth seeking out, has been collected, and is available digitally.  Worth a look.

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(Not the) Letters Page:

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