Batman #440 (1989)

Batman #440 (October, 1989)
"A Lonely Place of Dying, Chapter One: Suspects"
Co-Plotter/Writer - Marv Wolfman
Co-Plotter - George Perez
Penciller - Jim Aparo
Inker - Mike DeCarlo
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Associate Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.00

A little birdie (named twitter) told me that in upcoming issues of Detective Comics we're going to be revisiting a very... lonely place.  I figure that's just the motivation I need to reread the classic Batman story that inspired it... at least the title, anyway.

This is another one that I haven't read in... yikes, twenty years?  It's also the story that I kept conflating with A Death in the Family early on in my fandom.  Just seems like like an odd name for a story arc... I dunno.

Anyhoo... Batman's been acting erratic ever since the death of Jason Todd... Nightwing's on sabbatical from the Titans... there're some, er, subtly-themed murders occurring... and there's a shutterbug on the loose.  Annnnnnd, go!

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We open with Batman embroiled in combat with the Ravager... no, not that one... nope, not that one either, and he seems to be having a tough time of it.  They're fighting at a dam, and Batman's internal monologue runs down the baddie's rap sheet... two weeks earlier he killed a pair of twins, and over the past two weeks he'd killed two policemen.  An anonymous tip to the GCPD led our man to the dam for the confrontation... which ends with Ravager falling into the foamy rapids below.  We get the impression that Batman is working hurt... because, he tells us as much.  What he doesn't know is that the entire brouhaha is being observed, and that voyeur is snappin' some pics.  What's more, this person appears to know Batman's secret identity.  He's had enough of Bruce, and now he wants to talk to... Dick!  Hmm... 

We shift scenes to a darkened apartment.  Inside a shadowy man listens to the radio... when suddenly, the voice emanating from the speakers starts talking less about the news of the day... and begins to directly address the listener.  The voice is telling him to do some pretty bad things... but the man claims that he doesn't want to live that way anymore.  And so, the voice persists... finally winning the man over, to the point where he says he will kill Batman!

Speaking of whom, we pop over to Wayne Manor where a bruised and beaten Bat shambles in.  Alfred helps him to bed... and lemme tell ya, it doesn't seem like it's going to be a pleasant night.  Alfred tends to him as he shakes, seizes, and aches... noting that it's been this way ever since Jason Todd's death.

Elsewhere, we rejoin our unknown shutterbug as he looks at his Batman shrine (of sorts).  Along with his photos, he has a collection of newspaper clippings.  There happens to be one special photo of Dick Grayson in particular... that we last saw during Batman: Year Three.  Hmm...

Back at Wayne Manor, morning has broken.  Bruce appears to be in better spirits... buuuut, I've got a feeling that's about to change.  Alfred confronts him about how lax he has been in his crime-fighting of late.  He recalls that over the past two weeks, Batman has been shot twice and stabbed twice... by rank amateur villains who would usually be like a "night off" for him.  He reminds him of the words he once spoke to Dick Grayson, "We're not brutalizers.  We've got to think with our heads, not with our fists."  Wise words that it would seem he'd forgotten falling Jason's death.  Rather than argue or become belligerent, Bruce silently waits for Alfred to leave, before going to suit up.

We next head to a theatre, where mob boss Gerry Skye (that's Guiseppe Scalatto, if you're nasty) is taking in a show with his family.  He is approached by... a shadowy radio enthusiast.  He pitches him a plan... Gerry's got two guys giving him trouble, and our man has an idea that will take them both off the table... plus, Batman too!  He says it'll go down two-morrow at two-a.m. at the Zwei Brothers Warehouse.

The fella then heads home to report his good deed to the radio.  Unfortunately for him, the radio doesn't seem to feel like chatting.  Well, not directly at him anyway, it's still fine about covering the news of the day.  The shadowy man proceeds to beat the hell out of the squawk box.

We rejoin our would-be Ansel Adams, as he tries to hunt down Dick Grayson.  His search has led him to Titans Tower... and he watches as every Titans leaves the island... well, almost every Titan.  Nightwing is nowhere to be seen.  He next heads to a place where he can peek into Starfire's penthouse apartment... hmm... using his binoculars, he can see that she's carrying what looks like a TV dinner on a tray.  He decides that if his Titan-hunt is going to be successful, he's going to have to make contact.

Day turns to night, and we join Batman at the Zwei Brothers Warehouse.  Those two troublemakers are in the midst of a... book heist?  Okay, there's a crime right up my alley... but I'm not sure what good that would do a mob boss.  Batman makes his appearance... and one of the crumb-bums reveals that the boss told them Batman would show up.  In a pretty fun scene, Batman hops on a forklift... it's funny how they almost always have the keys left in 'em (I really mean that, I've managed a few warehouses in my day) and beating them both down.  While riding, he is overcome with profundity.  Everything is suddenly been made clear.  Two weeks ago, twins were killed.  Over the next two weeks, two policemen shot and killed.  This event... occurring on the 22nd of the month... at the address 22 Second Street... concerning two geeks.  Oh yeah, and Zwei is German for two.  Dun dun dunnnnn...

If that was too subtle, I suppose I can just come out and say it... the shadowy fella listening to the (somehow repaired) radio is Two-Face!

Batman pops in on Commissioner Gordon to give him the hot tip... and Gordon's all "I toldja so"... because, apparently Batman had broken Harvey Dent out of prison some time earlier (in a story I don't recall).

We rejoin our paparazzo as he knocks on Starfire's door.  He doesn't introduce himself, but asks if he can see Nightwing (he almost refers to him as "Dick").  He's informed that Nightwing left the Titans some weeks back... which is all our man needed to hear.  He beats a hasty retreat while Starfire tries to get to the bottom of who he is.

We stick with him as we head to our ending.  He knows that Dick kept an apartment... which sorta begs the question, why didn't he go there first... but whattayagonnado?  Inside he sees some newspaper clippings to the affect of "Haly's Circus is closing down".  He remembers that particular photo again... and now knows the next place his search will take him.

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Really... really enjoyed this.  Like I mentioned in the preamble, early on in my DC fandom, I confused this story for A Death in the Family... which means, I read this thinking it was the death of Jason Todd.  When it turned out not to be... I couldn't help but to be a bit disappointed.  That said, the first time I received this story... I didn't much like it, simply because it wasn't the story I was hoping for.

This time around, I have no such incorrect assumptions... and can enjoy it for the story it is, instead of disregarding it for the story it isn't... or something.  What I'm trying to say is... this is the start of a great story, that deserved a better shake from the younger (and leaner) Chris.

Let's break it down... and I suppose it'll be silly of me not to include spoilers.  Ehh, ya know what... screw it, we'll play along.  I *wonder* who that roving shutterbug is... that sure is suspect that he has that photo of Dick Grayson with that tot sitting on his knee from Haly's Circus that we saw during Year Three!  What did they say that kid's name was again?

Eh, that probably doesn't mean anything.  Nothing to see here, folks!

The Two-Face reveal was pretty neat, in a Batman '66 kinda way.  It's like I can hear Bill Dozier's voice narrating... It's a Cat-astophe, Three Mittens have been stolen from Kat-hmandu! only, er, if he were talking about Two-Face, and what not.

I like the idea of Harv hearing voices from the radio.  It's a classic symptom of psychosis/schizophrenia to believe things like the television or radio are addressing you directly... and I think it's an interesting wrinkle in Two-Face's current mental state.  I love how he lashed out at the radio for "ignoring him" after he performed the deed they "discussed".  It's this kind of malady that makes Two-Face a much scarier villain to me, than just the dude who bases his decisions on the flip of a coin.  There's a true horrifying madness here, rather than a (relatively) simple adherence and obligation to "chance".

Speaking of mental states... we've got Batman himself.  I'm glad to see this addressed in such a way.  Rather than having Batman "go off" on Alfred for daring to broach the subject, he silently sits in bed... looking at his bruised knuckles, allowing his faithful butler and friend the opportunity to speak.  I like how his actions and lack of caution are resulting in actual injury... it's less like he's distracted, and more as though his mission has a sharper focus on justice.

This isn't like he "almost got shot", or "almost didn't save somebody"... this is him actually being shot (and stabbed) after actually not being able to save somebody.  In other stories, all it would take is a "near-miss" for a hero to be shocked back to "normal"... here, however... Batman being beaten and battered has become his new normal.  It's a logical (temporary) next step in light of recent events... A Death in the Family, The Killing Joke... it's just not been a good time for the Bat-Family.  Hell, we can even look back at the Starlin run and consider the possibility that the slasher series of murders is still weighing on him on top of everything else as well!

Overall, this is one I'd say Bat-fans really ought to check out.  If you're excited about the upcoming A Lonely Place of Living, definitely check out the story they are/might be homaging.  At the very least, you'll get a better appreciation of the homage covers they're using.  Available in (an out-of-print... but probably not for long) trade paperback as well as digital.  I think we'll stick with A Lonely Place of Dying this week... Titans Tomorrow!

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Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (1992)

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June, 1992)
"The Last Arkham, Part One"
Writer - Alan Grant
Artist - Norm Breyfogle
Letterer - Todd Klein
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Assistant Editor - Scott Peterson
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.50

Today we're going to discuss what just might've been my first Batman comic book ever!  This was around the time of Batman Returns, and my local shop set up a display with this (polybagged) new release, and a three-part story arc that ran between Batman and Detective Comics called "The Penguin Affair".  I wanna say I bought them all at once, but I'm pretty sure I grabbed this one first... on account of the polybag, and the "#1" on the cover.

Either way, this was the start of my on-again, off-again relationship with the Batman's sequential art adventures.  From here I would binge on Bat-books for upwards of a year... then drop'em all for another... again and again.  I think my current run with the character might just be my longest "stint" yet!

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We open with Arkham Asylum being... emptied?  Ya see, new director, Jeremiah Arkham isn't so fond of the Gothic and Victorian digs, and wants to bring the joint into the (late) 20th Century.  He's hired a crew from Hiram Contractors to... not only knock over the building, but even to dispose of all the old Arkham files!  As Jeremiah watches the blaze and discusses "logic v lunacy" with one of the workers, he thinks back to a run-in with a mad man at a liquor store.  He found himself facing the business end of a shotgun... however, is somehow able to "see" the baddie's pain... says a few things... and before we know it, the robber turns the shotgun on himself!

Time passes, and we are introduced to the new-look Arkham Asylum... which Jeremiah based on a classical labyrinth.  Here we join the new director on his rounds.  First stop, Cornelius Stirk... a disfigured multiple-murderer, who was once known as "Fear".  It is clear that he isn't comfortable in his new well-lit room.  His panic attack prompts Arkham to suggest some tranquilizers.  Stirk ain't diggin' that one bit, preferring to be "drug free".  He says drugs are unnatural... to which, Arkham compares that to Stirk's having eaten his fair share of human hearts.  The orderlies... well, beat the hell out of the inmate... and force-feed him his pills.

Next stop, Everard Mallitt... who I wanna say is a one-off (or at least a new) character.  He's suffering from nightmares... and so, Arkham has him hooked up to a machine to wake him whenever he enters REM sleep... which doesn't sound like a terribly pleasant way to live.

Then, Jonathan Crane... the Scarecrow!  He's trying to convince Arkham that he isn't a dangerous man... ya know, while dressed like a six-foot tall scarecrow.  He protests being locked in a glass cage, and calls it "inhuman".  Arkham suggests that he can make the accommodations much worse, should he deem it necessary.  He then begins talking about behaviorism... then proceeds to scare Crane with holographic birds.  Wouldn'tcha know it, on the very next page we see Arkham in bed reading a book by, one of my favorite psychological theorists, B.F. Skinner (I've written a few theses on his theories and practices).  His approach with Crane is sorta Skinnerian... but, with the volume up to eleven... maybe twelve!

Now for something completely different... to the streets of Gotham where a man named Horse is being roughed up by some street toughs.  Lucky for him Robin is in the neighborhood, and makes short work of the creeps (in a wonderful two-page scene).  After the dust settles, Nightwing arrives to give him an "attaboy" and ask if there's anything he can do to help out.

Back at Arkham, Jeremiah is meeting with probably this series' most notable new villain... Mr. Zsasz!  He is locked in a metal "pod" of sorts... that only has an opening for his mouth.  They discuss Skinner, an orderly Zsasz recently... I dunno, mutilated a little bit (?) and also, whether or not Jeremiah might fall prey to the same sort of mania that claimed his uncle Amadeus Arkham.  This chat doesn't appear to be going the way Jerry wants... so he leaves.

Last stop on our tour of new Arkham brings us to a particular maximum security cell.  Jeremiah insists the orderlies have their nightsticks ready before they enter to greet their newest resident... Batman?!

A rather disgruntled Batman, actually!  So much so that Arkham immediately suggests sedation.  When Batman refuses to doze quietly, he sics the orderlies on him.  Batman is able to fight them off (his hands are chained to the wall, by the way).

Or, they were!  He manages to break the chains off the wall... however, before he might act, he finds himself on the business end of a high-pressure hose.  He's doused... then beaten by the nightstick-wielding orderlies.  One orderly goes to unmask him, but is halted by Arkham.  He doesn't want the cowl... not that way.  The only way he wants it, is if a "cured" Batman hands it to him himself.

The issue ends with Arkham and the orderlies (a great band name!) leave a battered Batman on the wet floor of his room.

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I'd forgotten how neat this issue was... my initial thoughts about this opening arc always go back to reading it as a kid... and not really getting into it.  A few issues later (I think it was Part Three) it grabbed me... until I realized that Batman was having like three different adventures at the same time throughout his other titles... and it kinda killed any urgency this story in particular had.  This was pretty early on in my "expanded" fandom... so I guess I wasn't quite used to that kinda thing yet.

Reading it back today... I really dug it!  It's a creepy-as-hell "day in the life" for (the debuting) Jeremiah Arkham.  I appreciated seeing him on his rounds... as it allowed for us to observe his approach without having to sit through a scene consisting of expository captions.  We see the disdain he has for the mentally ill... and how extreme he can be with his "treatment".

Use of B.F. Skinner as his go-to theorist is... well, like I mentioned, I am a (non-practicing) Skinnerian... but, even I must say, it kinda makes sense.  Skinner's approach (like any, really) could be exaggerated to the point of abuse.  I appreciate Skinner's take Operant Behavioral/classical conditioning as I feel it has a higher potential of, um... "visible success/failure".  Psychology is what many refer to as a "soft science"... and a potentially slow-moving one at that.  Skinner's approach, at least to my mind, works (or is proved not to work) quicker than many forms of psychotherapy or psychoanalysis.  In fairness, however, I should mention that my "experience" in using it is about 80% theoretical and role-play... and 20% "mesearch", which is to say, applying Skinnerian behavioral theory to various aspects of my own life.  I should also mention that I doubt Skinner would be on-board with beating patients with nightsticks.

Wow, that was a skippable paragraph!

Back to the story.  We've got a Batman locked in Arkham... and he's been accused of murder!  This is such a weird way to open a story, but it works so much better than had we seen his "arrest"/intake.  Even as a kid who didn't have a whole lot of investment... finding out why Batman was admitted was why I came back for the next issue.  It's a great cliffhanger, made even more so in Jeremiah's refusal to unmask the man.  I mean, it could be argued that that is a "convenient" thing to have happen... but, under the circumstances, it makes complete sense.  Arkham wants Batman to unmask voluntarily.  In his own twisted way, he's giving Batman a measure of ownership over his situation.  It's subtly played... but, it's there.  Batman's "wellness" and terms of release are almost completely in his own hands.  Really awesome touch.

Overall, this is definitely one worth reading... and in my experience, it's among the easier 1990's Batman books to find in the wild/on the cheap.  It's been collected in trade (fairly recently) and it's also available digitally... for 50-cents over cover price!

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Justice Society of America (vol.3) #14 (2008)

Justice Society of America (vol.3) #14 (May, 2008)
"Thy Kingdom Come, Gog"
Story - Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Penciller - Dale Eaglesham
Inker - Prentis Rollins
Colorist - Alex Sinclair
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Harvey Richards
Editor - Michael Siglain
Cover Price: $2.99

Saturday,
On the Blog,
I think it was the Justice Society...

Ehh, too many syllables to make that one work... let's just get to it.

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We open in the bedroom of Sandy, the (former) Golden Boy... current "Sand".  He's lamenting the fact that he's been avoiding sleep of late due to persistent nightmares.  He gets a knock on the door, and it's Power Girl.  She congratulates him on recently saving a young boy from a creep (likely part of the reason for the nightmares), and asks if he still has his "talking to the dirt" powers.  He responds in the affirmative, and is tasked with tracking a sample of volcanic ash found where Gog teleported out.  From here we shift to the source... and see Gog in battle with another who thinks himself a god... a New God, in fact!  It's Infinity Man from the Fourth World.

We get some expository narration from the big bad... he confirms that his name is William Matthews and he took the mantle of Gog after discovering an ancient temple in an African Jungle.  Now, before Gog can land the killing blow, Infinity Man 'ports out.  We can see that Sand's "dirt-talking" ability yielded accurate results, as he has observed the whole fight going down.

What follows is... oh boy... a meeting of the Justice Society at the big table, and wow, there be a whole lotta heroes here!  I think this is the first time we're seeing the entire lineup huddled around the table... there's over two-dozen of 'em... plus an owl!  Amazing.

Many of the younger Society members think the elders might be overestimating this Gog... which leads to a (somewhat familiar) history lesson from Superman-22.  He warns that should Gog remain, he will eventually pick a successor... Magog.  Magog would change the way heroes "did business" by straight-up murdering bad guys... and not paying too much mind toward "collateral damage".  He further warns that the world he comes from is one that no longer has a Justice Society.

It's here where we begin to see a subtle schism in the ranks.  Green Lantern starts giving marching orders... and it's basically all the seasoned-members (minus Wildcat) will hunt down Gog... the newbies (plus Wildcat... both Wildcats) will remain at the brownstone.  David Reid ("Lance", Franklin Roosevelt's grandson) takes particular exception, and pretty much says he's going regardless.

For some reason this page looks pretty rotten in my copy...

Amid the "grown-up" blibbuh-blabbuh, Maxine turns to Starman and asks why he's being so quiet... she's used to him "Deadpooling it up", I suppose.  Somber Thom explains that he had been on Earth-22... and it wasn't a particularly pleasant place to visit.  He continues to say if Magog is allowed to be "born" here... there will be a war in which the heroes are all killed... after all, that's what all his history books on Xanthu said.

Lightning suggests that if this threat is as big as they say, it might be wise to reach out to the Justice League for assistance... her father, Black Lightning, is currently a member.  She stands up and... unfortunately bonks her head on one of Mr. Terrific's T-Spheres... triggering her electric powers, and causing a brownstone blackout... whoops.  Jennifer is mortified... but that doesn't stop Jakeem from trying to spit a little game in her direction.

Dr. Mid-Nite looks over to David Reid, and notices that his lance is still "on-line"... which is because it's not electrical in nature, but somehow tapped into his biology.  Suddenly there's a static-hiss sound, and from it, emerges... Gog!  He's not alone either... he's got Sand... impaled on his staff!

Gog immediately goes after the youngsters... or maybe it's just that the newbies are the first ones to spring into battle.  Either way, he mops the floor with the lot of 'em.  This royally ticks the old guard off... and so, they swarm!  Gog notices Superman-22, and is none too happy... after all, he's responsible for the fall of Kansas!

An enraged Gog bursts through the brownstone and takes the fight into the New York City streets.  Here's where the young-guard gets some licks in.  Mr. America lassos Gog's staff away... right into the waiting arms of Amazing Man... who transmutes it's metal into his body, and clobbers Gog into... er, well, whatever it was... it's rubble now.

Gog decides enough is enough... and grabs Amazing Man by the throat.  Superman-22 leaps back into action... and gets snatched by the throat as well.  It looks as though Gog might be about to stand triumphant... until he turns and finds himself starting into both the Brightest Day... and the Blackest Night, Green Lantern and Obsidian!

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Another solid installment of Thy Kingdom Come.  This time it's heavy on the action... and it's a welcome change.  As much as I love the quiet character moments, I really dug seeing the Society work together in battle here.

As this is a chapter in a very "for the trade" kind of story, there really isn't a whole lot to say without getting too repetitive... not that I've let that stop me before.  I will say that I'm glad to have Dale Eaglesham back in the penciller-seat.  I mean, these super-crowded panels and pages... damn, so good!

I know the first time reading this is was left pretty unsatisfied after each "chapter"... sort of the same way I was left unsatisfied after reading Ultimate Spider-Man.  Like, I enjoyed every minute reading it... but at the end of it all, it took too few minutes to get through an issue.  This was a quick read... not a bad one... just quick.  Waiting a month for the next installment... kinda sucked.  O course, the trade reads beautifully... but I ain't "reviewing" a trade here today.

Anyhoo, back to the story... we get to learn a bit more about Gog.  Although he's really an ordinary fella from... whatever prime "real" Earth post-Infinite Crisis was called... either Earth-One or Earth-Zero... I'm not sure if they'd decided yet... either way, he's from "here", but still recognizes Superman-22 as being unable to save Kansas.  That raises some questions to be sure.

We get a bit more of a "subtle schism" between the old and the new members of the Society... which is pretty neat, and I gotta wonder if there were already eyes toward spinning them off into JSA All-Stars at this point.  It wouldn't surprise me.

Overall... another fine issue, but it's becoming harder and harder to recommend as a stand-alone read.  It's pretty clear that this is supposed to be read in trade format... which is one of the more challenging things about attempting to cover more contemporary offerings here at the humble blog.  So many of them are written this way... but, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.  I guess it's a good thing that Thy Kingdom Come is definitely worth checking out in it's collected form.

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