Batman in the 1980s Issue 86: August 1989

 

The Dark Knight in the 1980s
by Jack Seabrook &
Peter Enfantino

Perez

Batman #436

"Batman Year Three, Part One: Different Roads"

Story by Marv Wolfman

Art by Pat Broderick & John Beatty

Batman watches from a perch at Gotham Harbor as a luxury yacht is targeted by a helicopter's gun; a mob boss named Jacobi, along with everyone else on the boat, is wiped out before the Dark Knight can intervene. Batman tries to catch the helicopter but can't hold on.

Later, at the Gotham Municipal Court House, a parole hearing is being held for Anthony Zucco, who has been in prison for twelve years. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson visits Wayne Manor and wonders why Bruce shows so little concern following Jason's death. At the parole hearing, an unseen person addresses the board and tells the life story of Zucco, who grew up in a tough neighborhood. After his parents were killed by criminals, he lived in an orphanage run by nuns, where he demonstrated that he was irredeemable.

He ran away and joined a major crime family; two of his victims were the parents of young Dick Grayson. The story of Grayson's happy life as a child in the circus is told to the parole board, as is the way his parents were killed by Zucco. Unlike the criminal, Dick was redeemed by the nuns at the orphanage. In the Batcave, Dick whips off his outer layer of clothes and reveals his Nightwing costume; he vows to find Bruce/Batman and discover why he's not more broken up about Jason's death. Batman approaches another gangland meeting and tries to prevent them from being killed; a helicopter launches a rocket that destroys the house, and it's left up in the air who lives or dies.

Peter: These "Year (Whatever)" projects are supposed to be new and refreshing arcs but, owing to the already-established mythology, they can also be a tad bit microwaved. Such is the case with "Year Three," an absolutely unnecessary waste of time and trees. Frank Miller was able to provide a fresh take on an origin that had been resurrected almost annually for forty years, but here, the usually reliable Marv Wolfman almost sleeps through the origin of Robin. The art is awful as well, with the Pat Broderick/John Beatty team rendering every character with wide-open eyes and stiff limbs. 

And please, tell me why, oh why, someone decided there had to be a third Robin after the public had justifiably turned thumbs-down at the Colosseum for Jason Todd. Bats is a shadowy character, stuffed to the brim with noir and darkness, who is only weighed down by a wise-cracking pre-teen who never follows orders. How can it be so hard for the powers-that-be at DC to understand that?

Jack: Seeing the nice cover drawn by George Perez and then reading the interior story drawn by Pat Broderick and John Beatty reminded me of a 1970s' issue of Batman, where a Neal Adams cover led to Irv Novick art inside, though Broderick is no Novick. The retelling of Robin's origin story is too long and seems too detailed to be related to the parole board. Who is addressing them, anyway? Are we supposed to take that it's Batman disguised as Matches Malone? The character's face is not shown till the end, but he's never identified. Part one of Year Three is a stinker and I hope the rest of the arc is better.

Breyfogle

Detective Comics #603

"Tulpa, Part Three: When Demons Clash!"

Story by Alan Grant

Art by Norm Breyfogle & Steve Mitchell

Mahakala, the Tulpa created by Tenzin Wyatt as a bodyguard, has tracked down loan shark Rafe Kellogg and is about to reduce the man to jelly when the Batman, accompanied by Randu, interrupts the melee. Using a wrecking ball, our hero pummels the giant demon and drops it into an excavation hole. 

But, as the Dark Knight, Randu, Kellogg, and a couple of very harried beat cops turn away from the gravesite, Mahakala rises and begins his destruction anew. Miles away, in his posh apartment, Jason Blood senses a disturbance in the force and calls forth Etrigan, his Demon alter ego.

Etrigan flies to the battleground and engages in a very short battle with the Tulpa, eventually reducing the monster to dust. The Batman thanks the rappin' demon and prepares to take his prisoner, Kellogg, in for charges, but Etrigan has other plans. He's hungry and Kellogg's soul might make for a tasty morsel. Bats vocalizes his displeasure, giving Etrigan the standard "these men will stand trial and be sentenced by a jury of their peers" sound bite, and is startled when the Demon roars in laughter and gives Bats a kiss on the cheek, telling him that deep inside they're very much alike.

Peter: I can't say enough good stuff about this final chapter of the "Tulpa" saga; both Grant and Breyfogle are at the apex of their talents (at least so far). As I've mentioned, I know nothing about the Demon character, but Grant's version certainly makes me want to visit other incarnations. It's odd that the character is considered a "hero" in the DC Universe since his aggressive and certainly anti-social behavior falls more in line with a villain's. He's DC's answer to Marvel's Son of Satan, I guess (or, as I check chronology, vice versa), a figure very hard to pigeonhole, and thus easier to bend into more varied storylines. The Demon's mood swings in the final act are simultaneously startling and hilarious

I'm astonished by the progress made by Norm Breyfogle over the last year or so. He began on shaky ground and, by 1989, had grown into a dependable artist turning out atmospheric and moody graphics. Grant/Breyfogle have become the O'Neil/Adams of the late 1980s. Go ahead, debate me.

Jack: I can go along with the O'Neil part but not the Adams comparison. Breyfogle's art has improved a great deal, but (to me) he's still not in the pantheon of Bat-artists like Adams, Rogers, Miller, and Mazzucchelli. I like the contrast between the rampaging Tulpa and Jason Blood's attempt to resist letting Etrigan emerge; when the Demon first crashes through a window, Breyfogle draws him in a Kirbyesque pose. I also like that Grant stuck to Etrigan's rhyming dialogue. This Demon is definitely an anti-hero, and when he fights Batman it's no Brave and the Bold misunderstanding! I like Etrigan's abrupt change in attitude and Batman's broken-off pointy ear. All in all, a fast-moving story with sharp graphics.

Perez

Batman #437

"Batman Year Three, Part Two:

Changes Made"

Story by Marv Wolfman

Art by Pat Broderick & John Beatty

Nightwing is looking for Batman and finds a trail of beaten, bloody men along the way, as Batman investigates the murders of gang bosses. Of course, the Caped Crusader escaped death by rocket last issue, but when Nightwing locates him, Batman is chilly and the two go their separate ways. It turns out that the man addressing the parole board was a poorly-drawn Alfred the butler; he thinks back to when he collected young Dick Grayson from the orphanage and brought him back to Wayne Manor to live as Bruce Wayne's ward.

Bruce soon decided to make Dick his partner, revealing his secret identity and training him to be a crime fighter. Now, Nightwing worries about his mentor's recent violent behavior and inability to process the death of Jason. For his part, Batman approaches a meeting of gang bosses with an idea about how to prevent their murders, but all they want to do is to kill him. Zucco's lawyer visits him behind bars and the killer admits he has big plans for when he's on the outside. At Wayne Manor, Alfred gazes at a handgun and thinks about the need to stop Zucco.

Peter: What I get foremost out of this new version of the mythos is how mad (read that as insane) Bruce must have been to initiate Operation: Partner on the first day the kid showed up at the mansion. Granted, he's an acrobat, but Wayne knows nothing about the mental stability of the pre-teen nor seems to think twice about putting this moppet in harm's way. Frank Miller probably would have questioned the sanity of a man who would do all this in order to gain "a partner," but Marv just wants to tell a good story and avoid all of the psychological nonsense. 

The Alfred monologue to the bewildered Dick Grayson as they saunter down the Batcave steps is A-One pretension; I was barely able to make it through those panels without puking. Am I the only one who thinks patterning Robin's costume on the suit Dick Grayson wore in his circus act might be leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for those who are looking?

Jack: I thought part two was a bit better than part one, but that may be due to low expectations. The story is still weak and the art ugly, but there are panels here and there that are bearable. Nightwing's thought that Batman "left a trail Stevie Wonder could follow" is an example of thoughtless writing that would not pass muster today. We're halfway through this arc and I don't think it's going to end up being memorable. DC was capitalizing on the popularity of the Batman movie that came out in mid-June; the four issues of Year 3 were released on June 15th, June 29th, July 20th, and August 3rd, the first two and the last two issues each coming out two weeks apart.

Ordway

Batman: The Official Comic Adaptation of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture

Based on the screenplay by Sam Hamm

Adapted by Dennis O'Neil

Art by Jerry Ordway

Jack: DC released this big adaptation of the movie on June 22, so there were Batman comics flooding the stands in the summer of 1989. The comic follows the movie's plot, though I didn't go back and watch it to note any differences. O'Neil manages to capture all of the big lines from the movie and the whole thing is very entertaining--I couldn't stop reading! Jerry Ordway's art is terrific; it is exciting to look at and he captures all of the actors' faces perfectly. I was surprised that this was as good as it is; it's easily the most fun Batman comic I read for this post!

Next Week...
A Cluster of Clays!