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| The Dark Knight in the 1980s by Jack Seabrook & Peter Enfantino |
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| Perez |
"Batman Year 3, Chapter Three: Turnabout"
Story by Marv Wolfman
Art by Pat Broderick & John Beatty
Alfred is so upset about Zucco being paroled that he grabs an automatic pistol, but he can't bring himself to go anywhere and use it. Nightwing is riding around on his motorcycle pondering the recent change in Batman's attitude, while Commissioner Gordon fields questions from the press about the recent spate of murders of mob bosses and concerns about a gang war.
Nightwing uses his detective skills to help a detective find some clues to who's killing gang leaders; Batman meets with the mob bosses and, once they realize he's not going to be easy to kill, they calm down and listen to him. Alfred visits Zucco in prison, but the killer laughs in his face when the butler offers him any amount of money to leave Gotham City when he's released. Back at the Batcave, Nightwing uses the Bat-computer to get a lead on who's killing the mobsters; Batman talks to the gang bosses and figures out that Zucco is behind the recent rash of murders and has kept a diary on the nefarious activities of all of the other mobsters.
Batman and the gang leaders visit a criminal and insist that he give them information about Zucco's activities, while Nightwing finally discovers that Zucco is going to be released very soon. The Dynamic Duo finally meet and talk. Zucco is walked out of prison and immediately shot to death by a gun on a passing helicopter. Nightwing accuses Batman of knowing that the murder was about to happen.
Jack: Part three features the same bad art by Broderick and Beatty that marred parts one and two, but at least this time the plot advances somewhat and there are not as many flashbacks. Wolfman engages in heavy parallel storytelling, following several threads at the same time and cheating a bit by not picking up where the last issue left off until partway through the story, but it all works reasonably well. None of us reading this issue ever thought for one second that Alfred would resort to using a gun, did we? The cliffhanger is good enough to have me wondering what the fourth and final part will have to tell us.
Peter: Flashbacks? Jack, this is an arc called "Year Three!" Why is most of the action set in the present? How about "Flashbacks: Year Three" instead? Everything about this disaster hurts my brain. It looks like someone at DC decided that watercolors were the new thing and Marv's script is loaded with cliched dialogue and scenes that go nowhere. A prime example is that opener with Alfred on the bed with the revolver. It's just faux suspense. The mob conference scene has been done before a thousand times... exactly the way it's done here. And, I guess it'll have to be me who points out that Nightwing has a really dumb looking costume. Is that half-cone behind his head for extra protection? Get me out of this arc, pronto!
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| Breyfogle |
"The Mud Pack, Part One: Men of Clay"
Story by Alan Grant
Art by Norm Breyfogle & Steve Mitchell
Preston Payne (aka Clayface III) breaks out of Arkham Asylum in a homicidal rage (he'd been arguing with his wife, Helena, a store window dummy... but that's not important right now), killing an orderly and putting another in Gotham Hospital. Before he exits, though, he's shot with several tranquilizer darts.
Across town, Batman is in the middle of breaking up a gang war when he sees the Bat-Signal high in the sky. He hops in the Batmobile and heads for Gordon's office, unknowingly passing Basil Karlo (aka Clayface I) along a strip of seedy movie theaters. Karlo is assaulted by a couple of ruffians but makes quick work of them and heads into one of the theaters.
Elsewhere in Gotham, Preston Payne, in a very drugged state, zigzags through the dark streets, still apologizing for tearing Helena's head off of her plastic body, and finally falls headfirst to the ground, unconscious. Four of Gotham's finest stumble across Payne, but their glee is interrupted by the approach of a costumed female, who hypnotizes the men and puts them to sleep. She then uses telekinetic powers to levitate Payne and the two exit the panel.
Having gotten the 411 from Gordon, Batman tracks Payne to the patch of ground he passed out on and is perplexed by the clues he finds. There was obviously a woman at the scene, but where is Payne? When he gets back to Gordon's office to report his findings, he's told that Clayface had had a female visitor earlier that afternoon. After watching the video, Batman is shocked to see his old partner in the Outsiders, Looker (and yes, she's a looker!), having a chat with Clayface. But the Dark Knight is told that Looker never said a word to Payne; she just stared at him the entire time.
Jack: One of the best stories of 1989, "Men of Clay" features delightful art by Breyfogle and Mitchell and an engaging, engrossing story by Grant. Clayface 3 and his dummy lover are bizarre and tragic, and I share Clayface 1's opinion of "modern" horror films. I don't know any of the Outsiders, so Looker was unfamiliar to me, but then again it wasn't really Looker, was it! I was starting to get confused by all of the Clayfaces running around when Grant, on the next-to-last page, explained it, so I got it. This is a great start to a four-part story, much better than Year Three.
Peter: I liked it a whole lot too, Jack, and thought to myself that, for once, I welcomed all the expository. I not only didn't know who Looker was (I completely ignored Batman and the Outsiders after the first few issues, as they were really bad), but I was equally unfamiliar with the Clayface "family." Lots of fabulously funny bits here (and Grant just slides them in without being too obvious): the aforementioned Helena; Karlo's hilarious inability to resurrect Hagen (and the subsequent panels of Hagen's formless figure propped up by a spoon); and a cameo in Arkham by recent villain, Cornelius Stirk. There's a very heavy dose of insanity running all through Grant's script. It's a gem.
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| Bolland |
"Blood Secrets"
Story by Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn
Art by Val Semeiks & Michael Bair
Batman stands at a graveside in Huntsville, Alabama. There, he reminisces about his time with Harvey Harris, a man who taught him so much about the skill and patience of detective work. When Bruce first comes to Huntsville (under the alias of Frank Dixon) to study with Harvey, he's a "young pup," years before donning the cowl and still erupting in anger rather than thinking a problem through.
Harvey has a problem. Three men have been strung up, their throats slit, and there's nary a clue or a suspect. Bruce accompanies Harvey on all his outings, helping him sift through the detritus for clues. As their investigation deepens, the townspeople become unsettled and some are downright unfriendly. Several times, Harvey and Bruce must fight off attackers, men who seemingly do not want the dynamic duo to come to any conclusions. During an altercation, Harvey is shot and killed.
Jack: Waid and Augustyn spin an entertaining detective yarn, but were fans of Batman satisfied by a 44-page story where the Caped Crusader barely appears? Having Bruce Wayne use Frank Dixon as an alias is a cute nod to the author of the Hardy Boys, fitting since Bruce was a 17-year-old who wanted to be a detective when he grew up. The story is another look at young Batman's previously unexplored training, and Huntsville, Alabama, is a new location for a Batman story. The art is terrific (on the cover) and pretty good (on the inside)--certainly better than what we're getting in the Year Three arc.
The climax, where we learn that Bats travels back to pretty much torture Falk every year, is a good one. At first, I doubted Falk would keep his mouth shut about the big guy's secret identity, but I guess a murderer wouldn't go to lengths to draw attention to himself. The art is good, great in spots. It's got an EC/ Frazetta/Williamson/ Krenkel vibe to it. Much better, overall, than most annuals.
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| Bonus Pin-Up from Detective #604 |
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| Next Week... Year Three Reaches Its Ugly, Illogical Conclusion |
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