Batman #453 (1990)

Batman #453 (Late August, 1990)
"Dark Knight, Dark City: Part II"
Writer - Peter Milligan
Pencils - Kieron Dwyer
Inks - Dennis Janke
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Assoc. Edits - Dan Raspler
Edits - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.00

There's that episode of The Twilight Zone people like me (compulsive comic book collectors) like to refer to from time to time... we keep buying books... fleshing out our collections... in the hopes that one day in the future we will be faced with TIME.  Nothing but time... all the time in the world.  Time, when our books will no longer go unread.

Because today... between work, school, and family... when faced with a scant few moments to read (and write about) any given comic... my choices are so vast... overwhelmingly so, that I fear I will ultimately come up empty-handed.  Like, pick a number between 1 and 10... okay, 6.  Now, pick a number between 1 and 10,000.  Ummm... err... uh...

With the amount of choices available, and so many books I want to share... it's just so hard to pick just one.  I see a Legion of Super-Heroes book that kinda interests me... oh, but there's Doom Patrol... and Catwoman... and, All-Star Squadron... ooh, Watchmen!  Hawkworld!  I want so bad to read everything... that it's almost easier to read nothing at all.

Now, why in the bluest of hells do I bring this up today?  Well, I feel like I lucked out in being reminded of this story line earlier this week.  It took away all of the pressure from picking this weekend's books.  That's truly half the battle!

Enough of that stream of consciousness that will probably only make sense to me... and on to our second chapter.  Of course, you can still check out my coverage of the first part, right here.

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When we last left Batman he was about to be attacked by what appeared to be a zombie at the Gotham Military Cemetery.  As it turns out, he's actually about to be attacked by a good half-dozen of them!  The Riddler and a couple of flunkies look on from a nearby "control center" style van.  The toadies seem to think the Riddler may just be losing the few marbles he's got left!

The battle continues on, and Batman winds up tearing off one of the zombie's arms to find that it's clearly not organic.  This "danse macabre" consists of several robo-zombies... and one Riddler thug in Walking Dead cosplay, who we'll call Jimmy.  As the tide turns in Batman's favor, the Riddler triggers an explosive device he'd affixed to Jimmy's neck to keep him from squealing.

Poor Jimmy lay dead, having just had his throat blown out... and the Riddler's other henchmen begin to protest... after all, Jimmy was their pal!  The Riddler ain't having none of it, and threatens to do the same or worse to the rest of them.  He instructs them to drive off.

As they pull out of the cemetery, Batman flings himself onto the windshield.  The driver jams on the brakes, and sends Batman flying.  The driver then stomps the gas, with designs of making Batman into roadkill... only to be stopped by the Riddler.  The strangeness of this event is not lost on Batman, and he now realizes that the Riddler wants him alive for a certain reason... so much so, that he'd even go as far as saving his life were it in peril.

Batman returns to the site of the danse macabre to investigate.  He finds poor dead Jimmy... and thinks how much the Riddler's M.O. has changed of late.  Nearby, he hears crying... he's found the second baby, safe and sound laying in front of a tombstone... which sounds strange to say, but here we are.  On the tombstone is a riddle... You'll find another little tot at the 25th who was shot.

We jump back to the late 1700's, and the fallout of that bat-shaped daemon appearing during the unholy ritual being conducted by Thomas Jefferson's secret society.  Being the manly men the society members were... they run out of their little underground clubhouse/temple (leaving the young woman they were to sacrifice behind with the daemon, mind you)... and hammer boards over the entrance.  We're then treated with an awesome page (that kind of reminds me of R. Crumb's A Short History of America) depicting how the area that the underground temple inhabited had changed over the past two-hundred years... as in, it's now a real seedy area of Gotham City.

What next?

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce is trying to figure out the latest riddle.  He's positively stumped, and falls asleep in mid-thought.  His dreams... okay, you know what Bruce dreams about... I know what Bruce dreams about... let's just get into it.  He dreams about a night he and his parents went to see The Mask of Zorro... ring any bells?  It's kind of a lucid dream this night... he remembers passing McKinley Street.

He wakes up in a panic... knowing the answer to the riddle... but this answer begets more questions.  McKinley was the 25th President of the United States... and he was assassinated... does this somehow tie in with the murder of the Waynes?  Does the Riddler know Bruce is really Batman?  Too many disparate things are lining up for Bruce to completely dismiss this only a coincidence.

We shift scenes to the Riddler and two of his henchmen.  One is testing a flamethrower, and the other is holding the (leaky) third baby.  Nigma is juggling ping pong balls, and appears to be overly concerned with their size... There is a third henchmen, however, he appears to be partially eaten by the Riddler's newly delivered "pets".

Batman arrives at an all-night tavern on McKinley Street... and pops in to ask some questions.  At the bar, there's a bartender and a blotto fellow, both appear to know nothing.  Just then, a van backs through the bar's window... and flings it's back doors open, revealing a pair of angry, and hungry pit bull terriers.  The dogs start taking chunks out of the other patrons in the bar!

The darker furred dog gets shot by the blotto... who turns out to be an off-duty GCPD officer.  The lighter furred one, lunges right for Batman, who is able to just barely hold it at bay.  He's handed a silver knife... by somebody (perhaps the bartender), and proceeds to plunge it directly into the dog's heart.  When the dust (and fur) has settled, Batman notices that the bartender has beat a hasty retreat.

Thanks, citizen!

Batman checks out the van, and finds that it's been wired for sound.  The Riddler is giving him his next location... clearly he knew the dogs would only serve as a brief diversion.  He tells Batman where to meet him, and flat out threatens that the third baby may soon be dead from choking.

Batman is led to a manhole at Hamilton and Wright.  Once descended, he is blinded by rather powerful spotlight... and beaten with clubs by Nigma's men.  Batman narrowly beats the geeks, employing some fancy bataranging... and is then faced with the Riddler.

The Riddler has set the third baby down in a crib... and plainly states that there is a small (but not too small) ping pong ball lodged in its throat... and the baby is currently turning blue.  Nigma casually walks off to let Batman try and work his way out of this one.

Batman tries patting the baby on the back to dislodge it... and when it doesn't budge realizes that the Riddler intended this ball to be almost perfectly stuck in the child's throat.  There's no time to get help, or make it to the hospital... if Batman wants to save this child, he will have to take matters into his own hands.  We close with Batman standing over the crib... brandishing a knife.

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Heavy stuff here... and man, the Riddler is a scary dude.  It's insane watching him toy with Batman... a guy who's not used to being toyed with... a guy I'm not used to seeing anybody toy with!  Here's this silly, campy villain... and he is just wrecking Batman... physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

I neglected to mention the art when I discussed the first chapter, as I was planning on discussing that after finishing the entire arc... but, Dwyer delivers here!  This is truly amazing stuff.  Add to that the Mike Mignola covers, and this is one damn fine looking funnybook.  Everything from the danse macabre, to the fight with a pair of dogs... looks amazing.  This (and the first chapter) are bloody books... yet, never come across as looking flat-out gory.  That's a testament to the talents of Dwyer, Janke, and Roy!

My only complaint about this issue is the reliance on "that night".  I know it's just something that happens in Batman books, hell, we got a reference to it just a few days ago when we discussed the Mud Pack story line.  I really feel like each creator, when given a Batman assignment really wants to be able to include that scene... it's not a bad thing in and of itself... but it can (and does) become tiresome.

Overall, a great middle-chapter for this disturbing Bat-tale... one that's definitely worth seeking out.  The cliffhanger is riveting... will we actually see Batman try a perform a tracheotomy on a week-old baby?  We'll get to the bottom of it tomorrow... 

... and next week, it's beginning to look a lot like... something...

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Batman #452 (1990)

Batman #452 (Early August, 1990)
"Dark Knight, Dark City: Part I"
Writer - Peter Milligan
Pencils - Kieron Dwyer
Inks - Dennis Janke
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Assoc. Edits - Dan Raspler
Edits - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.00

Never planned on doing a full-blown Batman week... but here we are.  Over the past several days I've covered the four-part Mud Pack story line that ran through Detective Comics during the Fall of 1989.  While doing so, I lamented the fact that the story was never collected... or so I thought.

On Facebook and here at the blog I was corrected.  One of those folks who tipped me in was a fella named Jules Boyle.  As a matter of fact, he also discussed the Mud Pack story in a post he wrote in 2015 about his Essential Batman stories.   While reading his fantastic post, I was reminded of another great turn-of-the-nineties Batman story... the one we'll begin discussing today... Dark Knight, Dark City.  Thanks again Jules... for the correction, and the reminder about this story!

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We open in the year 1793, in the township of Gothame.  A secret society is preparing to perform a ritual sacrifice in order to summon (and make subordinate) a daemon called Barbathos.  Among this society is future President of the United State, Thomas Jefferson.  We watch as Jacob Stockman (whose journal entry we appear to be reading from) raise his knife above the prone chest of a "prepared" young lady... 

... before shifting scenes to present day (or night) Gotham City.  Batman is meeting Commissioner Gordon on the roof of the Gotham City Police Station.  Apparently, the Riddler had been making several threatening crank calls to the Station.  As the pair discuss their options, they are joined on the roof by a woman... who appears to have scaled the building with her bare hands.  She is speaking, as though in a trance... telling Batman a riddle.

Generally my leaves aren't turned at night...

Usually, I'm full of worms all day...

Lots of words but deathly quiet...

She repeats her riddle a couple of times, and when she's sure Batman's gotten the gist of it... throws herself off the roof.  Batman grapples her feet Spider-Man/Gwen Stacy style... with a similar result.

We shift scenes to the Riddler... he appears to be in a library where he is holding two guards hostage.  One is precariously teetering on a stack of books with a noose around his neck, while the other is bound in a chair.  The fella in the chair starts giving the Riddler lip... and gets his brains blown out for his troubles.  I never knew the Riddler to be this cold-blooded... very interesting.

Back outside the GCPD... Batman and Gordon are working out the riddle.  Gordon believes they're being lured to the Gotham Memorial Cemetary, but Batman knows better.  Still, he lets Jim follow his hunch... and he heads to the Gotham University Library.

Back in 1793, Thomas Jefferson stops Stockman from plunging his knife into the young woman's chest.  Jefferson claims that he never thought things would go this far... and instead assumed they would only seek a symbolic sacrifice.  The rest of the society says it's far too late for anything like that.  Before they commence with the stabbing, a large bat-shaped shadow stands overhead.

In the present, Batman arrives at the Library... to find the Riddler reading a copy of Franz Kafka's unfinished masterpiece, The Trial.  As Batman approaches, the Riddler kicks the stack of books (which included a copy of Seduction of the Innocent) the guard had been teetering on... lynching him in the process.  

Batman is able to batarang the rope and give the guard some mouth-to-mouth, but for the most part, the damage has already been done.  The guard's life is saved, but his spinal cord has been severed.  While this is going on, the Riddler casually walks away.  

An officer at the hospital hands Batman an envelope containing a cassette tape labelled "The Hanging Man".  The Riddler's got a whack way of labeling his mix tapes!  He also informs Batman that the some gunmen had recently kidnapped four babies... each a week old.

Back in the Batmobile, Batman gives the tape a listen.  In between a Dire Straits track and a taped-off-the-radio Welcome to the Jungle, the Riddler left another clue.  This is an easy one, that leads Batman to the West Gotham Blood Bank.

Outside the blood bank there are some ne'er do wells lurking about.  Rather than asking any questions, Batman simply proceeds to beat the holy hell out of them.  Once they're prone, he finds out that the Riddler's holed up inside.

Inside, Batman finds Riddler sitting atop a tall shelf full of blood samples holding what appears to be a baby.  Batman attempts to reason with him... which only causes Nigma to drop the "baby".  Batman lunges for the child, and catches it just in the nick of time... Hey, that's not a baby!

Instead of a real-life baby... it's a plastic doll... that explodes, covering Batman in blood.  As Batman tries to compose himself, the entire corridor of blood samples explodes... absolutely drenching him in the stuff.  He mentions that his eyes are full... he's literally blinded by blood.  What a crazy scene!

Batman hops back into the Batmobile and gives chase to the Riddler... He nearly catches him, but notices a baby lying in the middle of the road.  Batman just barely brakes before running over the newborn.  He picks the baby up, and finds that it's holding a tarot card of The Hanged Man.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce is taking a well-earned (and much-needed) shower, while sharing the events of the day with Alfred.  Alfred proceeds to read the riddle on the back of the tarot card...

I've still three brats, all plump and round.

Hey, Bats, let rip as in Byron's Parisina.

Seek Out--Less often sought than found.

The two put their heads together, and quickly conclude Batman's next stop will be the Gotham Military Cemetery.

Batman arrives at the cemetery... and is shocked to be greeted by... a Zombie?

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I keep forgetting how dark Batman can be.  It's funny... it's always kind of a "dark" book, but I only recall that when I stop and think about it.  I love it when I'm reading a mainstream comic... and I'm thinking to myself, "Nah... they're not gonna..." when a potentially disturbing or gory scene comes up... only to have the creators actually follow through!

Dark Knight, Dark City is a wonderful piece of work.  Truly disturbing, and a really interesting look into how dangerous somebody like the Riddler can be.  I've always considered him something of a joke... a relic from a campier era.  Here, he's a vile and twisted individual... and proves to be an actual threat to Batman.  The whole time, Batman keeps mentioning how the Riddler thinks he's so "clever"... he almost seems personally offended that the Riddler is trying to outsmart him throughout the caper.  You'd figure Batman would be above things such as that... but he seems really quite annoyed, and it's such a novel thing to see!

I love how he appears to be playing with Batman... just leading him along by the nose, and always having a suitably horrid surprise awaiting his arrival.  We get the feeling that this is all building to something huge... at least as it pertains to this arc.  It's been probably about a decade since I read this... and I purposely didn't read too deeply into Jules' coverage of the story for fear of re-spoiling myself... so I am quite excited to experience this one again.

Further, the inclusion of, of all people, Thomas Jefferson was quite interesting.  The idea of secret societies is always one that has kinda shaken me.  These devotees make me feel a bit uncomfortable... but, that's just part of the fun.

This story line has been collected.  Twice, in fact.  In 2011, it was reprinted as a DC Comics Presents: Dark Knight, Dark City Special... and just last year (2015) it was collected in an actual trade collection.  Definitely worth a pick-up!

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Detective Comics #607 (1989)

Detective Comics #607 (October, 1989)
"The Mud Pack, Part Four: The China Clay Syndrome"
Writer - Alan Grant
Penciller - Norm Breyfogle
Inker - Steve Mitchell
Letterer - Todd Klein
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Associate Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.00

Okey doke, let's put this one to bed.

Of course, if you need/want to catch up... please check out #604 #605 #606.

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It's morning in Gotham, and a winged Lady Clayface carries Preston Payne across across the sun-risen skies.  Their chatter starts with thoughts of vengeance... yet, when they get a full gander at the sunrise, their thoughts change to those far more peaceful.

Below, in the La Scala... Looker has confronted a frothing-at-the-mouth Dark Knight.  Feeling that the only way she'll be able to help is rescuing him from his mind, she does a little bit of Professor X-esque (say that three times fast) astral-planing.

Deep inside the mind of the Batman, Looker observes him battling his demons... or at least demonic versions of his rogues gallery heavy-hitters.  As these phantasms are an induced hallucination directed at Batman, Looker knows she is safe... and does what she can to neutralize the threat to her former teammate.  It's not long before Batman's head clears and he begins to stir back into consciousness.

After a brief yet thorough investigation, Batman is able to discern that Karlo took blood samples from Clayfaces III and IV... and believes he'd done so in order to become a "real Clayface" himself.  This leaves the tandem with two options... S.T.A.R. Labs, or Gotham General Hospital.  They decide to split up and cover the most ground quickly... with Looker going S.T.A.R.bound and Batman hitting the Hospital.

As we turn the page, we already know where Karlo got off to.  He's at Gotham General and is holding a Doctor at knife-point.  He's brought both the stolen blood samples and a syringe... he just needs the Doc to give 'em a swirl and pump the mixture into his veins.

Looker makes her fruitless trek out to S.T.A.R. Labs... finds out her Clayface is in another castle... and falls on her butt when she attempts to fly away.  It appears as though she's taxed her powers to their absolute limit (for now).

Back at the Hospital, Doctor Lowell is reluctantly going along with Karlo's demands.  He knows nothing good can come of this... however, Karlo can be a pretty persuasive fella when he's holding a blade to your throat.

Batman arrives and... checks in with the front desk.  I'd probably mock that if it wasn't so charming.  They call up to Lowell's office, and he tells them he's all alone... ya know, besides the guy threatening to give him a really close shave.  Batman is hopeful that Looker had better luck with her lead and leaves... outside he notices two shadows in the window of Lowell's office... he knows he's in the right place after all!

Lowell injects Karlo with the bloody mixture... and the effects are almost instantaneous.  Karlo immediately begins taking a more clay-like form... and decides his first victim will be the very Doctor who helped him.  He grips the Doc with his newfound "lethal touch", killing him.

A day late and a Doctor short, Batman crashes through the window to face off with his transformed foe.  The two engage in battle with Karlo ultimately getting the upper-hand.  He attempts the lethal touch on Batman, and leave him with burns... which Batman describes as superficial at worst.

Karlo takes the form of what I can only describe as a Clay-Lamia, and proceeds to constrict his tail around the torso of Batman.  Before he can inflict a killing blow, Looker enters the fray.  With his attention diverted, Batman is able to wriggle free of his coily capture.

The three fight a bit more, until Karlo again comes out on top.  He prepares himself to permanently take out his foes by, in the words of Batman "turning up the juice".

In desperation, Batman instructs Looker to stop trying to sap power from Karlo... and instead add to it!  Overload that sucker... and so she does.  Karlo begins glowing bright red, and he completely loses control.

Before he goes "pop", Batman drives Karlo out the Hospital window... and he plummets to... and through, the ground below.  Karlo burns his way deep into the Earth, prompting Batman to make the joke (???) "Maybe we'd better inform the authorities in China!"  Nice!  Batman and Looker take their leave.

We wrap up this story arc with Clayfaces III and IV sitting on a hillside watching the sun rise.  They decide not to worry about Karlo anymore... and instead focus on one another.  We leave them as they engage in a passionate kiss.

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What a great story!  Enjoyed this one from start to finish... just enough pages to keep this one flowing and compelling all throughout.  I can't help but imagine that this story arc would take at least six issues to tell today.  Here, each chapter felt necessary, and jam packed with content.

I was happy to see that this issue tied up most of the loose ends... while leaving Karlo somewhat at large.  So much better than having him taken into custody... just to find his way out down the line.  We also don't know whether or not Karlo sneaked a peek under the cowl while Batman was out... you'd almost figure he did, like it'd be foolish not to.  Clayface III and Lady Clayface's end was a happy one... well, as happy an ending as one would imagine them having.  Their future is left nebulous at best, which works at this juncture... there's nothing to say that, with this behind them, they'll pick one side of the law or another.  Just really well done.

I have very little experience with Looker.  Outside of a few issues of Outsiders, I couldn't tell ya a whole lot about her.  That having been said, I enjoyed her presence in this story and feel she and Batman worked off of one another quite well.  In fact, all of the characters in this arc played off each other wonderfully.

The dialogue was great... it's fun revisiting a time where Batman would say something like "Whew... my brain feels like it's been dunked in an acid bath!" while massaging his temples.  It's almost jarring to see a Batman that isn't always stoic and serious... in a good way.  

Norm Breyfogle's art was a treat the whole way through.  It's amazing the amount of emotion he can evoke from Batman's eyes alone.  The Clay-Karlo looked awesome as well!  Just a beautiful looking comic all around... much like Breyfogle's entire run.

Definitely worth a look... check this one out should you get the opportunity!  Tomorrow we'll start looking at a three-part Batman story from 1990, as we continue our (impromptu) Batman week.

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