COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (July 2019)

Posted on July 2, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

July is Spy Fiction Month here at the blog. Before going on my yearly marathon of posts about foreign intrigue and counter-intelligence, though, let us all just take a moment to contemplate the fact that comics can be many different things… and they can definitely be awesome in many different ways!

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The New Teen Titans (v2) #24The New Teen Titans (v2) #24
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3 ‘silent’ sequences by Tim Levins

Posted on June 25, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

If there is one Batman run that doesn’t get enough praise, it’s the strand of highly entertaining stories published in Gotham Adventures #15-60, from 1999 to 2003, written by Scott Peterson, mostly with pencils by Tim Levins, inks by Terry Beatty, and colors by Lee Loughridge. Adapting the characters and visuals of The New Batman Adventures animated show, these were action-packed comics that steadily delivered exciting standalone tales without talking down to their audience. The ultra-compressed narratives – effectively carried by taut dialogue as well as by an art style of crisp lines and low average of panels per page – were a lesson in minimalistic storytelling, spinning twist-filled yarns that were rich in characterization yet never felt overloaded.

Of the many outstanding features of this run worth pointing out, today I want to focus on Tim Levins’ ability to bring to life ‘silent’ (i.e. wordless, without even sound effects) sequences that go on for pages. Scott Peterson clearly trusted his artists to convey all the necessary information and knew that readers enjoyed visually-driven set pieces, so his scripts provided Levins (and the rest of the creative team) with plenty of chances to shine.

Levins rose up to the challenge. Take ‘Do the Wrong Thing’ (Gotham Adventures #23, cover-dated April 2000), a super-fast-paced affair in which the Dark Knight investigates the mysterious disappearance of some of Waynecorp’s business associates. Between the opening splash page and the downbeat dénouement, we get a string of tight scene-to-scene transitions, a fair amount of detective work, and a climactic fight with global stakes (keeping with the show’s running theme of rogues with sympathetic motivations taken to violent extremes). And yet, among all this, the issue still manages to include a trio of lengthy ‘silent’ sequences in which Levins shows off his skills, starting with this one:

Gotham Adventures #23Gotham Adventures #23Gotham Adventures #23

Working with one of the best inkers in the business, Tim Levins’ deft pencils inject this sequence with peerless vitality through tilted angles and, in the second page, tilted borders (as the layout smoothly establishes the scene’s rhythm). Notice how Levins uses a small number of panels, letting the pages breathe, yet suddenly multiplies the images of the Caped Crusader, which gives the impression of a quick (yet clear) succession of graceful movements. Besides creating a loop for the readers’ gaze as it follows the action across the page (thus further increasing the dynamism of the reading experience), this neat trick efficiently illustrates an incredible acrobatic feat, underlining how athletic and cool Batman is.

Along with delivering thrills, this type of wordless sequences can serve to clinch characterization. In ‘Second Timers’ (Gotham Adventures #50, cover-dated July 2002), a typically multilayered issue about the difficult relationship between Batman and Catwoman, Tim Levins gets to explore the characters’ conflicted feelings, including through this amusing flashback where Selina goes through a whole range of emotions:

Batman Gotham Adventures 50Batman Gotham Adventures 50Gotham Adventures #50

Levins sure knows how to frame a free-for-all fight scene for maximum effect… Aware of this, Scott Peterson let him have one last hurrah in their knockout final issue, ‘Leaves’ (Gotham Adventures #60, cover-dated May 2003), another deceptively simple tale that actually strikes at the heart of the Batman mythos while kind of reimagining the classic one-shot The Killing Joke.

At one point, the Dark Knight singlehandedly faces around fifty thugs at dawn. Stylishly framed against a red sky (like in the sequence from ‘Do the Wrong Thing,’ except that here Loughridge pushes the mood even further by enveloping the bodies in a dusky palette), Tim Levins delivers a seriously badass battle that captures the exhilarating sense of an individual overcoming overpowering odds. The result is a virtuoso sequence akin to flicks like Kill Zone 2, John Wick 3, or The Night Comes for Us.

Gotham Adventures 60Gotham Adventures 60Gotham Adventures 60Gotham Adventures 60Gotham Adventures #60
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Batman comics on drugs – part 2

Posted on June 18, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know I’ve been looking at Batman comics about drugs. Today I want to briefly discuss two stories from the early 1990s that approached this topic in extreme ways.

In his many adventures, the Dark Knight has taken quite a few drug-induced trips…

batman 516Batman #516

In 1991, however, Denny O’Neil took the extra step of writing a five-part story devoted to Batman’s consumption of – and subsequent addiction to – a designer drug. In ‘Venom’ (Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20), set in the early stages of Batman’s crime-fighting career, the Caped Crusader has a crisis of confidence after failing to rescue a little girl because he wasn’t strong enough to move some rocks. He therefore starts taking special steroids that not only make him stronger, but also turn him into a jerk who sadistically bullies those he thinks are weaker than him while laughing hysterically.

Notably, he starts wearing a blue fedora and punching junkies in the balls:

Legends of the Dark Knight 17Legends of the Dark Knight #17

The reason for the new outfit, I can only assume, is a meta-commentary (the kind O’Neil is so fond of) about the essential difference between Batman – at his purest – and Ditko-esque vigilantes like Mr. A, the original Question, and Watchmen’s Rorschach. This also helps explain the faux-hardboiled first-person captions that go with this sequence:

Legends of the Dark Knight #17Legends of the Dark Knight #17

Batman gets seriously addicted to the stuff, so it’s a matter of time before his dealer, Randolph Porter, starts taking advantage of him – basically using the Dark Knight as a compliant thug in exchange for more pills.

It’s not a bad premise. After so many years of watching Batman mistreat dealers and addicts, ‘Venom’ puts a new spin on the series’ anti-drug message by showing the Caped Crusader going through the motions himself. There is something striking about seeing the usually confident, in-control Batman in such a submissive position…

Legends of the Dark Knight 17Legends of the Dark Knight #17

The core sequence in the book takes place when Batman finally realizes he has to break out of his condition and decides to go cold turkey, like Gene Hackman in The French Connection II. He locks himself in the Batcave for a month and tells Alfred Pennyworth not to let him out no matter what.

While Bruce’s whole ordeal feels utterly unrealistic, we are treated to a few touching scenes from Alfred’s point of view that capture what it’s like to have somebody close to you going through such a process…

Legends of the Dark Knight 18Legends of the Dark Knight #18

Because we don’t see what goes on in the Batcave during that month (except for a couple of animalistic flashback images, later on), ‘Venom’ lets our imagination fill in that terrible gap. All we really know is that during this period Bruce grew a mean, Alan Moorish beard…

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Having regained his sobriety, in the final issues Batman travels to Latin America to kick the ass of his former dealer and of General Slaycroft, who has been working with Randolph Porter (in a clear allusion to the armed forces’ involvement in drug smuggling in Vietnam and Nicaragua).

‘Venom’ has a good reputation among many Batman fans, perhaps because it occupies an interesting place in continuity, as a precursor to Knightfall (moreover, years later O’Neil did a spiritual sequel to this arc in Azrael #36-39), or perhaps because it features a number of memorable pulp adventure set pieces, like when the Caped Crusader throws a fridge out of a window to stop a car, when he parachutes into the island of Santa Prisca from an exploding plane, when he fights for his life against sharks, or when he has to come up with a clever escape from a particularly contrived deathtrap.

Unfortunately, though, most of the comic is clumsily executed. Denny O’Neil is not a subtle writer and the art team of Trevor Von Eeden (layouts), Russel Braun (pencils), José Luis Garcia-López (inks), and Steve Oliff (colors) somehow never give the material enough style to compensate for the script’s bluntness. The sight of Batman crying or punching through a phone booth’s glass after talking to Alfred should’ve been powerful moments, but instead they come across as kind of awkward.

Take the ‘terribly acted’ scene, early on, when the Dark Knight tells Randolph Porter about his daughter’s death. I get it that Porter is supposed to be callous and self-centered, but his nonchalant depiction feels completely off – at the very least, Batman should react to such an odd, caricatural behavior… Or take the subplot about General Slaycroft and his abusive relationship with his son, which feels like a lame remake of the Musto father-son dynamic in O’Neil’s The Question… And don’t even get me started on all the lazy clichés, from the openly racist, homophobic, misogynistic right-wing villains to the underwritten female characters who are just there to be the object of exploitative violence.

The discourse on drugs isn’t O’Neil at its best either, even if he tries to bring in some complexity by branching out and commenting on other addictive substances:

Legends of the Dark Knight #17Legends of the Dark Knight #17

The whole thing about Batman becoming a bulky jock who no longer likes to read feels especially forced… It could be explained as Bruce feeling too restless and unable to concentrate, but ‘Venom’ shows it as a radical shift in personality, with him explaining to Alfred that he is ‘passed the need to read’ before going on a rant against the ‘weaklings.’ I get it that his drug is eventually revealed to have been designed with the purpose of creating obedient soldiers, but there are less goofy ways to convey this without going the ‘dumb bully’ route (fortunately, this side effect had been removed by the time Bane became addicted to venom in Knightfall).

If you want a truly nasty Batman story about drug abuse – one that goes for gritty realism without skimming on the action – I would instead suggest a comic that came out the following year: ‘The Black Spider’ (Shadow of the Bat #5, cover-dated October 1992), written by my favorite Batman writer, Alan Grant.

Shadow Of The Bat 05Shadow of the Bat #5

I guess it was a matter of time until the drug-obsessed Grant had a go at the Black Spider. Created by Gerry Conway and Ernie Chua way back in 1976 (Detective Comics #463-464), the Black Spider was a character built around drugs from scratch… An ex-junkie-turned-vigilante on a deadly crusade against the heroin trade, Eric Needham had adopted the Black Spider persona in order to go after superflies (because in Gotham everybody loves masks and animal puns). Also, as was typical of costumed characters with the word ‘black’ in their name, he was dark-skinned:

detective comics 464Detective Comics #464

The original two-parter tale was pretty by-the-numbers. Ernie Chua’s art tends to be slightly more than serviceable and Gerry Conway basically wrote a (more focused) variation on the Punisher, putting Batman in the same position he had previously put Spider-Man (i.e. that of having to defend the criminals he despised against someone who was doing an extreme version of his vigilante crime-fighter act). The sequel, ‘Night of Siege’ (Batman #306), was equally forgettable.

By contrast, Shadow of the Bat #5 is damn hard to forget. The issue pulls no punches: when Eric Needham realizes his former girlfriend is back to shooting smack while raising their kid, he goes on an even more brutal murder spree… Although the Black Spider wears a typically absurd costume, this time there is no effort to disguise the story under a superhero tale. It’s just a bleak affair, full of personal tragedy and self-destruction. And along the way we get Needham’s thoughts on drugs and addiction in the form of a letter addressed to the Dark Knight:

Shadow Of The Bat 5Shadow of the Bat #5

Batman doesn’t save the day in the end – it’s just that everyone dies horribly except him. Man, this has got to be one of the most depressing Batman comics of the 1990s… (It’s certainly up there with Alan Grant’s Detective Comics issue about trash!)

This doesn’t mean it’s not a thrilling read. After all, part of the general appeal of Grant’s comics is precisely the overblown pathos and hysteria. And like many of his best works, Shadow of the Bat #5 benefits from his three greatest collaborators: artist Norm Breyfogle, colorist Adrienne Roy, and letterer Todd Klein, who compellingly convey the characters’ agony and desperation while providing the dynamic pace that the story requires:

Shadow Of The Bat 05Shadow of the Bat #5

You caught the Syd and Nancy reference? That’s not the only background nod! The issue is packed with allusions to the social context that pushes people towards drug consumption, from economic hardship to anxiety-inducing news stories and conspiracy theories (like the Strecker Memorandum)…

Shadow Of The Bat 5Shadow Of The Bat #5Shadow of the Bat #5

The point of the comic is that addicts are victims who should be helped rather than punished. Instead of judging them, everyone should take into account how easy it is to cave in to all sorts of impulses we need to keep in check, since temptation and addiction are all around us. As the Black Spider puts it, ultimately we’re all addicts, as each of us clings to whatever can relieve life’s pains (‘If it’s not drugs, it’s power, or money, or love… or hate.’). Our outrage should therefore be reserved for pushers who exploit those urges.

I think this results in a more powerful statement than the one in ‘Venom.’ Rather than showing us that Batman can potentially become an addict, Shadow of the Bat #5 argues that perhaps he is already an addict (if nothing else, he is addicted to the rush of being Batman) just like everyone who is trying to ‘fill that gaping hole in the center of ourselves.’

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Batman comics on drugs – part 1

Posted on June 11, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Drugs have traditionally played a substantial role in Batman comics (hell, in the whole medium). The Dark Knight has put away his share of drug dealers – from run-of-the-mill villains (your prototypical crime fiction trope) to the kind of outlandish characters that populate Gotham’s bizarre underworld. His stories have also featured a number of memorable junkies, such as Joey Redwine (in ‘The Spider’s Ninth Leg!’) or Studs (the protagonist of ‘Terminus’).

Moreover, the creators of Batman comics sometimes appear to be under psychotropic influence themselves…

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Or, if not directly under the influence, at least trying to simulate its effects…

Batman - Kings of Fear 3    batman and robin 17    batgirl 49

As encompassing as the drug motif is, however, some comics have tackled it more head-on than others. With that in mind, I want to look at a few stories that have sought to explicitly engage with the topic of substance abuse and say something a bit more ambitious about it.

One of the most mature efforts was ‘Flying Hi’ (Detective Comics #561, cover-dated April 1986), written by Doug Moench, with art by Gene Colan, Bob Smith, and Ricardo Villagran. Despite a florid opening narration, this is a restrained, low-key tale. Jason Todd (the second Robin) has a crush on a new girl at school, Rena, who invites him to get high with her. He discusses the issue, first with Batman and then with the girl, who is mostly looking to fit in. After half the comic with people talking, we get some small-scale action scenes as the class stoners try to rob a pharmacy. The ending – like the beginning – suggests that romantic joy is the best kind of high (which sounds cheesy, but it’s actually handled in an endearing way).

Moench’s script – combined with the relatively naturalistic style of Colan’s pencils and Adrienne Roy’s colors – manages to avoid caricature, as everyone in ‘Flying Hi’ seems to have a more or less realistic grip on what they’re talking about. His work even found praise in the not-exactly-superhero-friendly The Comics Journal (albeit by being treated as an exception to the rule). In the article ‘Flying High and Flying Low’ (issue #108), Steve Monaco argued that, in contrast to ‘Marvel’s typical wacko-junkie and pusher-killer approach,’ this Batman story ‘offers a soft-spoken, intelligent tone to its anti-drug message that is a much welcome change of direction, and it has a pertinence to the world of its intended audience that all the other supposedly relevant comics (and comics writers) should emulate.’

detective comics 561detective comics 561Detective Comics #561

Steve Monaco points out that because this dialectic method is not used combatively (for example, with an aggressive line like ‘Why would someone as smart as you want to do something as totally stupid as taking drugs?’), the ensuing dialogue ‘has a ring of truth, even if it is a bit whitewashed and cutesy for some adult tastes.’

For me, the pivotal scene occurs early on, in the Batcave, when the Caped Crusader proves to be an understanding father figure, talking to Robin openly and with some nuance about the issue:

detective comics 561detective comics 561Detective Comics #561

(The fact that they are literally flying high during the conversation is your obligatory visual pun, typical of Moench’s 1980s’ run.)

On top of everything else, this is a refreshing take on Batman, far from the righteous extremism of other depictions. Bruce doesn’t act especially controlling or judgmental in front of Jason (even though, true to character, he does go out and bust a horrible pusher later on… a scene that is probably meant to contrast the satisfying simplicity of Bats’ pulp fiction world with the shadier reality of Jason’s school life). I really like their matter-of-fact exchange both as a solid moment of bonding between the Dynamic Duo and as a lighthearted alternative to the usual heavy-handed approach to the subject matter.

But what about those other works – the ones with a more sensationalist, exploitative take on the malefices of dope consumption? You’d think the most likely place to find them would be in the oeuvre of Alan Grant, the king of over-the-top Batman drug comics, especially in ‘Leaves of Grass’ (Shadow of the Bat #96-98, cover-dated November 1996-January 1997), which revolves directly around pot.

In part, you’d be right. This three-parter concerns a drug war prompted by the fact that a new supplier is providing Gotham dealers with genetically-enhanced weed at half the cost of their regular score, which leads established suppliers to turn to brutal force to try to keep their dealers in line. The twist is that the new supplier in town is actually the camp DC villain Floronic Man, whose latest body is made out of marijuana and who sounds stoned out of his mind… In a particularly ridiculous development, Floro has his two voluptuous henchwomen kidnap Poison Ivy because he wants to make a hemp baby with her!

Shadow Of The Bat #57Shadow of the Bat #57

As you can tell from this excerpt, ‘Leaves of Grass’ is full of the kind of expository passages with ham-fisted factoids and statistics often associated with PSAs. Plus, there is a whole subplot about a classmate of Tim Drake (the third Robin) smoking a joint for the first time and having a bad trip, which comes across like a preachy cautionary tale.

That said, the comic is not as egregious as it may sound. The art by Dave Taylor (pencils), Stan Woch (inks), and Pamela Rambo (colors) downplays Grant’s propensity towards excess, keeping the story grounded. And for all the constant sermonizing, the dialogue ultimately stays true to each character (as long as you remember that Floro and Poison Ivy are meant to be deranged). The sequences in Tim’s schoolyard, for example, are not that contrived if you bear in mind that they are meant to capture the interplay between doofus teenagers:

Shadow Of The Bat #56Shadow Of The Bat #56Shadow of the Bat #56

Likewise, the equivalent of Jason’s exchange with Batman in the Batcave, although handled differently, doesn’t veer too far off the chart. Yes, the scene is more stilted and Bruce sounds less tolerant than he did in ‘Flying Hi,’ but that matches the overall characterization in the story – and in mid-90s’ Batman comics – where the Dark Knight is the inflexible one and the Teen Wonder a more humanistic voice of reason.

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Moreover, there is a nice ambiguity about the whole thing. Alan Grant, clearly aware of the reputation of drug-related fiction and anti-drug propaganda, gave each chapter a tongue-in-cheek title: the first one is named after a trippy TV show (‘Twin Peaks’), the second one after an infamous anti-marijuana film (‘Reefer Madness’), and the last one uses drug terminology to reflect what takes place in the issue at various levels (‘Comedown’).

He also tries to illustrate a fuller debate. It’s not just Floro who presents pro-pot arguments – in the final issue, the action is juxtaposed with a school presentation by Tim Drake about the dodgy history of hemp criminalization and the contextual – and racist – background of its ban, in addition to the harsh social consequences of marijuana’s illegal status (‘in 1990, almost 400,000 Americans were arrested for its possession or use’).

The indictment of the War on Drugs is voiced by Commissioner Gordon (‘the more we wage our war on it, the more people want to use it’), whose frustrated outlook makes for an effective counterpoint to Batman’s no-compromise brand of conservatism. Anticipating the strategy of the – much more sophisticated – third season of The Wire, ‘Leaves of Grass’ illustrates the potential of decriminalization with some counterfactual statistics:

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Against this background, the point of Tim Drake’s closing monologue to his class goes further than a statement against taking drugs. He – and the comic – stresses the notion that the drug problem isn’t something that can be resolved with threat or violence. It should be handled with frankness and by example. This acknowledgement of the importance of inspiration as a deterrent (rather than force or fear) ties into Tim’s own conflicting notions of heroism, which means that the payoff also works in terms of pushing Robin’s characterization.

Shadow Of The Bat #58Shadow Of The Bat #58Shadow of the Bat #58

Granted: the clapping at the end is probably taking it too far…

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (June 2019)

Posted on June 6, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Your June reminder that comics can be awesome…

Man-Thing #1Man-Thing #1
The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot #1The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot #1
The Invisibles (v2) #19The Invisibles (v2) #19
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Places to visit in Gotham City

Posted on May 30, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

If you happen to be passing by Gotham City and are only around for a day or a night, make sure you use your time wisely.

There are plenty of monuments worth checking out, but among the most original ones is this Swamp Thing statue:

swamp thing 55Swamp Thing (v2) #55

The statue is all the more remarkable because it was commissioned shortly after this godlike elemental being practically destroyed Gotham by engulfing the city in wild vegetation when the local authorities arrested his girlfriend, who at the time was being prosecuted for having sex with a plant (yes, it’s an Alan Moore comic). Although the statue doesn’t show up very often (it’s unveiled in Swamp Thing #55 and it can be seen in the background in Neil Gaiman’s and Dave McKean’s Black Orchid mini-series), I love the fact that it’s part of the history of Batman comics, as it demonstrates Gotham’s sense of fair play. By celebrating a brief period when the city seemed especially in touch with nature and publicly acknowledging Swamp Thing’s rightful motivations, this is ultimately a monument to sexual tolerance and unconventional love in the shape of an ugly vegetable monster.

As far as statues go, there is an even odder tribute in the Cauldron, Gotham’s Irish neighborhood and the setting for Garth Ennis’ and John McCrea’s beloved dark comedy series Hitman. One of that series’ running gags concerned a delusional alcoholic who went by the name of Sixpack and, dressed in a ragtag costume, believed himself a superhero. In typical Ennis style, what started out as a tasteless caricature was given a surprisingly dignified – yet hilarious – payoff towards the end of the series, as Sixpack eventually did save the day by impressing an evil interdimensional Lovecraftian being with his misguided determination in the face of hopeless odds. His sacrifice was suitably honored:

Hitman #52Hitman #52

(Speaking of Alan Moore, I’m pretty sure this splash page is a nod to the opening of Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?)

But of course cultural life in Gotham City isn’t just about parks and monuments. If you’re lucky, while you’re visiting you’ll be able to catch one of the city’s many eccentric festivals and annual events…

Detective Comics #483Detective Comics #483

Or you can go to a museum. If you do, however, bear in mind that the place is likely to be robbed while you’re there.

Decades of comics about themed villains have firmly established that, on the one hand, Gotham City seems to have an endless supply of imaginative exhibitions (with huge props) and valuable collections and, on the other hand, no object is too weird to be stolen at some point:

The Brave and the Bold 70The Brave and the Bold #70

Likewise, sport events are frequently interrupted by heists, terrorist attacks, or lively chases. Thus, if you go to a game, the main excitement may be cheering for a local team (the Knights, the Gotham Giants, the Gotham Goliaths) or it may be turn out to be a live-threatening experience.

That said, even when things go bad, you can still have a fun time at the stadium, especially if you enjoy slapstick and puns:

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Then again, perhaps you’d rather do some shopping instead. In that case, you could do worse than drop by Costume, a cult clothing store with a quintessential Gotham twist:

Gotham Knights #44Gotham Knights #44

Another obligatory touristic activity: I would highly recommend checking out some of Gotham City’s Bulletin Boards, which the Caped Crusader uses to covertly communicate with his informants:

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You can try to decipher hidden messages and imagine what oddball story is taking place in the Gotham underworld at the time.

Or perhaps you’ll actually find a useful service or a second-hand tool at an inviting price.

Or – who knows? – maybe you’ll even bump into Batman dressed as an old lady:

detective comics 465Detective Comics #465

At the end of the day, you can make the most out of Gotham City’s notorious night life. Sure, it’s dangerous, but it’s also very likely to have whatever you are looking for, no matter how kinky…

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Just make sure you watch you’re back, though. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there is kind of a problem with street crime in Gotham…

Detective Comics 667Detective Comics #667

Someone should do something about this sort of thing, I suppose.

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More brilliant sci-fi short stories

Posted on May 23, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone has started off on the wrong foot. It’s not just that most episodes so far have been weaker than 90% of Rod Serling’s original series  (or, at least, 90% of the first three seasons, since the show became more uneven in the final years) – even setting aside that comparison, we’ve seen much better versions of Twilight Zone-style fiction in recent times, from Black Mirror to Peele’s own Get Out. Indeed, 21st century identity politics are ripe for the kind of fusion of nightmarish science fiction/fantasy and social commentary that lies at the heart of the TZ franchise. I can even see how cool this sounded at the pitching stage: remaking ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet’ to reflect post-9/11 terror-in-the-air paranoia; turning ‘It’s a Good Life’ into an allegory about Trump; doing a variation on ‘A Most Unusual Camera’ and ‘A Kind of Stopwatch’ that taps into Black Lives Matter… The problem lies with the execution.

The worst offender of the lot was the very first episode, ‘The Comedian’ (in which, oddly enough, nobody seems to understand how comedy works or the fact that lasting success is related to the audience’s ability to recall the material), closely followed by the heavy-handed ‘Not All Men’ (an ultra-simplistic take on toxic masculinity that feels particularly underwhelming when compared to the way the topic was handled in the latest seasons of BoJack Horseman and Luke Cage). Admittedly, the demagoguery and naiveté affect me more here because 2019’s TZ addresses current debates – as opposed to the original’s engagement with the ‘50s/’60s zeitgeist – but it’s not just that. After all, Twilight Zone has certainly never been about subtlety as much as about visualizing pervading anxieties in imaginative and powerful ways. Yet even the episodes that come the closest to doing a millennial version of this, like ‘Replay’ and ‘A Traveler,’ drag for too long and cannot help but feel annoyingly predictable or repetitive before they’re over. It’s a shame that (except for ‘Six Degrees of Freedom,’ a genuinely tight slice of sci-fi) the latest TZ incarnation misses the main strength of the original, namely the fact that Serling’s team absolutely mastered the language of short stories, telling neatly tied standalone tales that left on a high note without overstaying their welcome (the drop in quality in the fourth season was, in part, a result of CBS stretching the running time).

I don’t think I’ll stick around. In an anthology series, there really needs to be a reliable batting average… And since I was left hungry for ingenious narratives that successfully use a brief, self-contained format in satisfying ways, I decided to do another list of brilliant sci-fi short stories from comics across the ages:

The Spirit #2.13.1949

‘Visitor’ (originally published in The Spirit newspaper strip, February 1949), by Will Eisner (script and art), Abe Kanegson (letters)

This classic tale from Will Eisner’s acclaimed run on The Spirit seamlessly merges that series’ film noir motifs with a foray into pulpy sci-fi, as the titular masked detective investigates a bank robbery and finds himself in the middle of an extraterrestrial conspiracy. ‘Visitor’ is a beautiful sample of what made Eisner’s work so groundbreaking – the panel borders shift to evoke flashbacks, deacceleration of time, and the ultimate dissolution of reality; the layouts hypnotically carry you up and down the pages; the distorted angles and POVs give the whole thing a dreamlike quality; the body language flows from humor (the Spirit on the phone) to action (the old carpet trick) and sensuality (Cosmek’s smoldering femme fatale).

weird science #07

‘The Aliens!’ (originally published in Weird Science #7, cover-dated May-June 1951), by Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein (plot), Al Feldstein (script), Wally Wood (art), Marie Severin (colors), Jim Wroten (letters)

A tale of two species meeting on an alien planet, their miscommunication a clear allegory of the Cold War escalation in the early 1950s (a core theme at EC Comics). I particularly like the final panel, which poignantly anticipates the notion that it is the Third World who will pay the ultimate price.

Strange Adventures #23

‘Meet Your Masters – the Ants!’ (originally published in Strange Adventures #23, cover-dated August 1952), by Mann Rubin (script), Bob Oksner (pencils), John Giunta (inks)

The science in this story about a world where humans are the insects is hardly foolproof, but every single page has at least one amusing idea. Above all, this is a pretext to watch haunting images of giant ants (creepily brought to the page by Bob Oksner’s mise-en-scène), a visual that was echoed two years later in the awesome horror film Them!

Weird Fantasy 18

‘Homesick!’ (originally published in Weird Fantasy #18, cover-dated March-April 1953), by Al Feldstein (script), Al Williamson, Roy G. Krenkel (art), Marie Severin (colors), Jim Wroten (letters)

Throughout his career, Al Williamson made a mark as one of the best artists at evoking romantic heroism and old-school cliffhanger serials (he even did a series called Cliff Hanger, with Bruce Jones, as a backup to the Hitchcockian thriller Somerset Holmes). Back in his EC days, though, writer-editor Al Feldstein often preferred to throw Williamson twisted plots with tragic endings, which resulted in stunningly atmospheric blends of noir and sci-fi, such as ‘Homesick!’

weird science fantasy 23

‘Fair Trade’ (originally published in Weird Science-Fantasy #23, cover-dated Spring 1954), by Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein (plot), Al Feldstein (script), Joe Orlando (art), Marie Severin (colors), Jim Wroten (letters)

While Al Feldstein’s script is needlessly wordy and the political message is pretty in-your-face, ‘Fair Trade’ is still a shining example of science fiction critically conjuring up both the future and the past, including through a striking final panel.

Master of the Macabre #3

‘The Last Hunters’ (originally published in Badtime Stories, cover-dated 1972), by Bernie Wrightson (script and art), Ray Kohloff (letters)

A mesmerizing post-apocalyptic tale filled with sumptuous prose and powerful visions. As usual, Bernie Wrightson’s ghoulish style channels classic horror and German expressionism, bringing to mind the kind of stark visuals you’ll find in Rüdiger Suchsland’s From Caligari to Hitler. (The scan above is from the reprint in Master of the Macabre #3, with moody colors by Steve Oliff.)

The Long Tomorrow & Other Science Fiction Stories

‘Is Man Good?’ (originally published in Pilote #744, cover-dated February 1974, translated version published in The Long Tomorrow & Other Science Fiction Stories), by Moebius (script, art, colors), Jean-Marc Lofficier, Randy Lofficier (translators), Phil Felix (letters)

Despite the seemingly self-important title, don’t expect anything particularly deep out of ‘Is Man Good?’ This one is just a pure exhibition of Moebius’ uncanny ability to navigate awe, tension, action, gore, and dark comedy.

Eerie #81

‘You’re a Big Girl Now’ (originally published in Eerie #81, cover-dated February 1977), by Bruce Jones (script), Richard Corben (art, colors)

Speaking of visually-commanding storytelling, this macabre farce about a giant girl allows the great Richard Corben to draw – and, crucially, color – one nightmarish image after another. Still, Bruce Jones’ script provides more than just a sick twist on the cult classic Attack of the 50 Foot Woman both by exploring the sci-fi ramifications of its premise and by imbuing the protagonists with a touching degree of humanity.

2000 AD #310

‘Chronocops’ (originally published in 2000 AD #310, cover-dated April 1983), by Alan Moore (script), Dave Gibbons (art), D.C. Gibbons (letters)

This hilarious romp about a Dragnet-style time-travelling cop plays with every paradox in the book. Although the absurdist tone is quite removed from their work on Watchmen, leave it to the team of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons to pack each panel of ‘Chronocops’ with subtle gags that reward close reading.

2000 AD #644

‘Identity Crisis!’ (originally published in 2000 AD #644, cover-dated September 1989), by Nicholas Barber (script), Glyn Dillon (art), Pigboy Zee (letters)

Let’s finish with a cyberpunk riff on one of the most famous Twilight Zone episodes. ‘Identity Crisis!’ revisits Rod Serling’s recurring musings on the fact that, even if there is an enemy out there, our own panic and paranoia can be terribly corrosive in their own way (a concern that was as relevant in the Cold War as it is now).

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3 gleeful Dark Knights, by Frank Miller

Posted on May 15, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Frank Miller’s 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns was, more than any other book, largely responsible for the grimmer tone of Batman stories in subsequent years. Its legacy is still felt today – not just in the overall atmosphere of several comics, movies, and TV shows, but specifically in the depictions of Batman himself.

However, one thing that many of these depictions seem to miss is that Miller’s Dark Knight wasn’t always a stoic, tragic figure enveloped in gloom and humorless bitterness or rage. In fact, there are quite a few instances of him smiling:

The Dark Knight Returns #2The Dark Knight Returns #2

I’m not saying Frank Miller’s reputation for darkening the Caped Crusader is entirely unearned, far from it. Yet I think a lot of creators have disregarded a big part of what made Miller’s original take on the character so cool – the allure is not so much seeing a version of Bruce Wayne who is doomed to be Batman, it’s seeing one who is cursed to enjoy it in his own gleeful, twisted way.

When you revisit DKR and, especially, its first proper sequel, 2001’s Dark Knight Strikes Again, it’s pretty clear that, for all the brooding and macho posturing, a lot of the time Batman is actually digging the hell out of being Batman:

The Dark Knight Strikes Again #2The Dark Knight Strikes Again #2

Sure, more often than not, it’s not just a smile. Miller’s Dark Knight tends to grin in a menacing way, suggesting smug bemusement or at the very least a vicious, pitch-black sense of humor… Still, this is one side of the character that doesn’t show up often enough, in my opinion, and it can result in some genuinely fun moments.

Frank Miller’s later works and public statements make it very hard to give him too much love – he has deservedly fallen out of grace with many Batman fans. Hell, even some of his earlier stuff has not aged that well. But if there is one thing we owe Miller, it’s panels such as this one:

The Dark Knight Strikes Again #3The Dark Knight Strikes Again #3
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The despicable pre-Crisis Man-Bat

Posted on May 8, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Man-Bat isn’t one of the most inspired concepts in Batman comics. Taking to the extreme the notion that great villains are an inversion of the heroes, Man-Bat’s name is a literal reversal of Batman’s… As for his origin, it’s just another retread of the old Jekyll and Hyde formula, as zoologist Kirk Langstrom takes a bat-gland extract and ends up becoming a bat-like mutant.

Still, I have a certain fascination for the pre-Crisis version of Man-Bat. He’s neither your regular Batman foe nor your regular Batman ally… He is basically a deranged asshole who hangs around Gotham City and unintentionally makes everyone’s life miserable, thus ushering in a strand of stories that aren’t your regular Batman adventures.

detective comics 400Detective Comics #400

To be sure, as simple and stupid as the concept of Man-Bat may sound, his debut in Detective Comics #400 (cover-dated June 1970) was actually quite neat… Yes, a lot of the story’s success derives from the excellent decision to have Neal Adams illustrate it (with inks by Dick Giordano). With the possible exception of Bernie Wrightson, no one could have come up with such a great monstrous design and infused the art with the required gothic atmosphere to sell this idea. Adams gave the material a classy treatment from the very first page, introducing a Kirk Langstrom who resembled Peter Cushing’s mad scientist in Hammer’s Frankenstein film series (which, in the previous year, had released its most macabre installment, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed).

To Frank Robbins’ credit, he doesn’t just write a horror story about a man physically transforming into a monster, nor is he satisfied with the parallel between a man who inadvertently looks like a bat and a man who deliberately chose to look like one, even if that is obviously there as well:

detective comics 400Detective Comics #400

That first story involves the Blackout Gang – a gang of thieves who operate in the dark and in total silence with the help of “light intensifier” goggles, foam-soled shoes, and ultra-sonic cutting tools. Sure, they’re a convenient plot device to give Man-Bat a chance to show off his sonar, but they also help unfold a kaleidoscopic mirror house effect. Everyone in the story seems to be trying to emulate bats. Add to this the collection of giant papier-mâché bats at the Gotham Museum of Natural History where we first meet Langstrom (and where he later hides) and you have a comic in which the man/bat motif resonates in every single page.

Following up on this introduction, Detective Comics #402 and #407 round up the character’s initial storyline. This trilogy establishes practically all of the main elements of the Man-Bat mythos. The second part pits Batman and Man-Bat against each other as Langstrom completes his transition into a winged creature, losing his humanity psychologically as well as physically. The third part expands the role of Kirk’s fiancée, Francine Lee, who sacrifices her own humanity to be with her mutated lover, giving the saga even more of a gothic tragedy flavor.

This issue also provides one of the best replies to the age-old wedding tradition of asking guests if anyone sees fit why the marriage should not be consummated:

detective comics 407Detective Comics #407

On the one hand, Batman’s role may come across as particularly reactionary – since Kirk Langstrom consciously refuses to stop being Man-Bat and Francine’s sacrifice is put in terms of her losing her ‘human beauty,’ the Caped Crusader’s main problem seems to be merely that the couple look like inhuman beasts. Francine would thus appear to be much nobler, as she is willing to accept Kirk in spite of his deformity.

On the other hand, even if haphazardly, the story does suggest that the cost of turning into Man-Bat is not just ugliness, but insane rampage as well. This crucial point is better developed in later instalments, starting with the Langstroms’ next appearance, in the suitably titled ‘Man-Bat Madness,’ now under Frank Robbins’ own stylized pencils.

detective comics 416Detective Comics #416

The link between loss of conventional beauty and murderous rage is a classic Batman motif, also seen in villains such as Two-Face and Clayface. Robbins himself used this motif to great effect in ‘Man in the Eternal Mask’ (Detective Comics #409), about a disfigured killer out for revenge not only against the one he blames for his mutilation but against the art that immortalized his previous looks and that now torments him as a reminder of his loss (the tale finishes with a twist on The Portrait of Dorian Day, as the killer attacks his beautiful portrait and is ultimately defeated by it).

But, again, Man-Bat is a different sort of beast. Kirk Langstrom’s madness does not derive from his revolt at having been turned into a monster – after all, no matter how unintentional it was, the transformation was completely self-inflicted, so there is no one to blame but himself. For the most part, Kirk just comes across like a jerk.

It doesn’t help that he is the worst husband ever. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he keeps turning into a monster and is responsible for his wife turning into one as well, in ‘Man-Bat over Vegas’ he is even willing to shoot Francine just to solve the latest Man-Bat outburst:

detective comics 429Detective Comics #429

Frank Robbins’ final Man-Bat story was ‘King of the Gotham Jungle!’ (Batman #254), which threw the character in a different direction. Rather than a curse that turns him mad, Kirk Langstrom’s latest transformation is treated as a deliberate attempt to become a crime-fighter, with Kirk remaining perfectly lucid in his Man-Bat form and the Dark Knight accepting him as a crime-fighting ally.

This status quo leads to ‘Bring Back Killer Krag’ (The Brave and the Bold #119), in which Kirk competes with Batman to capture a mob hitman hidden in a Caribbean fortress (ruled by a dictator who calls himself ‘the Black Napoleon’). Like many of the best issues of The Brave and the Bold written by Bob Haney, this one is packed with fun, wild ideas – the duo faces everything from armed guards to an angry shark, vampire bats, and voodoo executions, building up to an awesome climax in which the Dark Knight himself takes the bat-gland serum!

That was followed by a short-lived attempt at a solo series…

man-bat

…but clearly the world wasn’t ready. The series lasted for two issues before being wrapped up as a backup feature in Detective Comics.

The Langstroms then moved to New York City. Always the horrible husband, Kirk still tried to pursue his Man-Bat crime-fighting career, living precariously on voluntary rewards by grateful citizens, even though his wife was expecting a child. In his defense, Man-Bat did develop a superpower that was as absurd as it was convenient, namely the ability to pick up on the ‘mental radiation’ of criminals (supposedly triggered by their desire and determination to commit a crime). Oh, and he totally fought a guy called SNAFU!

As if it wasn’t enough that Kirk treated his wife so poorly, he also drove his downstairs neighbor insane. Literally:

Batman Family 14Batman Family #14

Soon, the deadbeat Kirk Langstrom partnered up with private detective Jason Bard, although not without some convincing:

batman family 20Batman Family #20

Meanwhile Kirk’s poor daughter, Rebecca Elizabeth Langstrom, is suspected of being a latent demon child (Batman Family #17). Even after that mess is cleared, she turns out to be quite the unhealthy baby, having inherited oversensitive hearing from her parents, which doesn’t let her sleep. And as a father, Kirk brings all the understanding you’d expect from him…

detective comics 485Detective Comics #485

Always one for common sense solutions, Kirk steals a bunch of illegal drugs (banned by the FDA due to dangerous side effects) and hires the dodgiest ‘no-questions-asked’ doctor he can find to fix his daughter’s condition (The Brave and the Bold #165). When Batman wisely prevents him from administering the drugs (which on top of everything else have been contaminated with highly toxic bacteria) to the child, Kirk turns his anger against the Caped Crusader, even after Rebecca gets cured with the help of Superman (DC Comics Presents #35).

Indeed, by the time we get to the early 1980s, Kirk is even more of a mess. Having screwed up the proportions in his own bat-gland formula, he actually forgets his daughter is cured and so he attacks Batman in a completely misguided act of revenge for her supposed death, although not without first engaging in some old-school domestic violence:

batman #342Batman #342

Batman finally fixes everything. The Caped Crusader houses Francine when she has a breakdown and confronts Kirk with his live daughter, so that he is shaken out of the Man-Bat state.

Not long after that, though, the idiot forgets to take his medication and goes on *yet another* vengeance quest for his not-dead daughter, this time kidnapping the closest thing to Batman’s son he can find: Jason Todd, the second Robin. Kirk tries to turn the poor boy into a bat, which leads to this creepy splash page:

batman 361Batman #361

The latter is not a bad comic – the art is highly atmospheric and Doug Moench, always one for symbolism overdose, works in a bunch of factoids about bats. He also uses Kirk Langstrom’s family fixation to contrast and develop Bruce’s own fatherly relationship with Jason. However, it is ultimately the same story we’ve seen before over and over again, with Kirk going berserk and Batman injecting him with some antidote in the end.

In theory, this was the last pre-Crisis confrontation between the two. If I’m not mistaken, it would take about a decade for Man-Bat and Batman to meet again in the comics (outside of the Batman Adventures line, that is). However, when Moench revisited the character in 1996 (in Batman #536-538), even though that three-parter was technically set in post-Crisis continuity, the Langstroms’ depiction sure felt like a throwback…

This time around, Kirk gets feral fever because a weird phenomenon has been stretching the night time. Well, the fact that he gets hopped up on hard drugs probably doesn’t help… Anyway, Kirk beats up Francine (again), goes on a rampage in the Gotham night (devouring an alley cat in the process), and then flies off to the North Pole. In the Arctic, Kirk runs into a secret government operation to develop an electromagnetic death-ray, in a typically paranoia-infused Moench twist. It’s a pretty terrible story all around, but of course the main attraction is seeing Man-Bat drawn by the übergothic Kelley Jones:

Batman #536Batman #536

Speaking of writers shoehorning their agenda into Man-Bat comics that are illustrated by eccentric artists: around this time, DC also published Jamie Delano’s and John Bolton’s Manbat, a mini-series about an eco-activist called Marilyn Munro (seriously) who stumbles upon Kirk and Francine Langstrom, now exiled in the desert. Increasingly frustrated with humanity’s environmental crimes and always one for poorly thought out solutions, Kirk has decided to engineer a new species to replace humans.

Delano brought to Manbat the same kind of poetic prose and in-yer-face politics that he had perfected in his runs on Hellblazer and Animal Man, taking advantage of Bolton’s flair for the grotesque in this indictment of vivisection:

ManbatManbat

DC labeled Manbat an Elseworlds tale, but it reads more like a sequel to the old stories, showing a logical evolution of the Langstroms (as long as you ignore the fact that they once had a daughter called Rebecca). What really makes this comic worthy of an out-of-continuity sticker is the fact that, even for modern Batman standards, the Dark Knight comes across like a hilariously authoritarian douchebag:

ManbatManbat

In fact, the defining reboot of Man-Bat in the post-Crisis continuity was wisely assigned to writer Chuck Dixon, an expert in streamlining and updating old concepts. In Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #5, Dixon efficiently remade the first couple of Man-Bat stories, making Kirk much more likeable in the process. Instead of a mad scientist, Kirk was now more of a tragic figure from the start – a deaf workaholic experimenting with bat genetics in order improve people’s hearing. He was still somewhat of a jerk to Francine (who was now given a scientific background herself), but that became a less prominent feature.

It’s this new Man-Bat that you find in ensuing comics (except for that Moench three-parter). Dixon reintroduced him as a regular supporting character, first in an issue of the anthology Showcase ’94 and then in a 1996 Man-Bat mini-series. They were both illustrated by Flint Henry, who, true to form, drew Man-Bat as the most disgusting creature you can imagine…

Man-Bat 1

Kirk Langstrom has continued to be reinvented and he is still somewhat of a wild card in Batman’s corner of the DCU (albeit not always an interesting one). In those pre-Crisis years, though, when Gotham wasn’t populated with all that many recognizable characters beyond Commissioner Gordon, the Batman family, and the rogues’ gallery, I find it fascinating to follow the parallel adventures of this deluded loser who just keeps screwing up.

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (May 2019)

Posted on May 3, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

While I hope superheroes don’t become as hegemonic in film as they did in comic books, Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Endgame is further proof that this genre can make for great cinema that is both fun to watch and interesting to dissect. The latest blockbuster is the phenomenal movie I wanted, complete with kickass action set-pieces, grandiose adventure, and clever engagement with otherworldly logic, not to mention the fan-rewarding self-reflexivity that is a staple of this kind of stories. Yet there is more to it… Surprisingly – although perhaps appropriately enough for an installment that aims to give us a temporary sense of closure – Endgame is also an emotional drama about grief and nostalgia for the recent past. Plus, at one point it turns into a laugh-out-loud sci-fi comedy, both mocking and mimicking Back to the Future – part II. Finally, as usual with the MCU, you can go for more political readings, including of the post-apocalyptic imagery, of the sight of Captain America fighting himself, of Thanos’ very attempt to remake the world (and control its memory), of that fist-pumping ensemble shot of female heroes taking charge (more effective than anything in Anna Boden’s and Ryan Flek’s heavy-handed Captain Marvel), or of the final passing of the torches.

You know what else is awesome? Comics.

Dead DropDead Drop #2
Ex Machina 36Ex Machina #36
Marvel Fanfare #10Marvel Fanfare #10
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