This is Gotham Calling’s 700th post!
I like to mark these occasions with something special and it occurred to me that it’s been a while since my last post celebrating the Caped Crusader’s tendency to acrobatically kick – or sometimes knee – his opponents in the head. It’s a trope that never gets old, as it plays to the strengths of both artists (who get to draw Batman pulling off incredible moves) and letterers (who have a chance to go nuts with their sound effects). Plus, writers sometimes join the fun by giving the Dark Knight a badass one-liner to accompany the aggression (like the classy pun ‘Too bad I can’t kick his addiction.’), thus supplying the lyrics to go with the artists’ dance choreography and the letterers’ music.
Here are yet another fifty examples of extravagantly performative violence:
Batman #264
Batman #269
Detective Comics #339
Batman #330
Detective Comics #483
Detective Comics #551
Batman #385
Batman Annual #10
Batman #385
Batman #396
Batman #406
Detective Comics #577
Detective Comics #580
Bride of the Demon
Legends of the Dark Knight #25
Legends of the Dark Knight #31
Legends of the Dark Knight #25
Batman & Robin Adventures #10
Batman / Phantom Stranger
Batman & Robin Adventures #10
Resurrection Man #7
Batman Adventures (v2) #1
Outlaws #2
Legends of the Dark Knight #91
Outlaws #3
Batman Adventures (v2) #11
Turning Points #5
Batman Adventures (v2) #16
Batman #608
Gotham Knights #31
Batman #618
Catwoman (v3) #22
Detective Comics #791
Gotham Knights #41
Detective Comics #800
Batman #634
Batman #640
Batman #642
Gotham Knights #60
Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs Bane
Kings of Fear #1
Batman Annual (v3) #1
New Year’s Evil #1
Batman: Universe #1
World’s Finest (v4) #1
Batman: Universe #1
World’s Finest (v4) #2
One Dark Knight #1
World’s Finest (v4) #11
…and let’s wrap up with something a bit more elaborate:
Full Circle