Pick of the Brown Bag
November 8, 2020
by
Ray Tate
Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag. For those of you that discovered the blog late, my name is Ray Tate.
Sink Me. I'm a poet.
I read and review comic books. I first started the Pick of the Brown Bag in the nineties on the usenet groups. I later became a part of Comicsbulletin.com before rebooting the POBB in blog form.
This used to be a weekly column where I'd look at the best and worst of the Wednesday yield. Practicalities of the world we now live in killed a lot of my free time. I'm hoping to someday return to my normal schedule, but for the now, the POBB is an occasional publication.
Today's subject is a Detective Comics special, likely still available at your local comic book store. It can even be purchased at various book dealers.
What's so special about 1027? Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939.
Yeah, that's pretty wild.
Let's talk meat and potatoes. The book costs 9.99, which is a bit pricey for a comic book. However the Powers that Be at DC treat this issue of Detective Comics like a graphic novel.
It's not floppy and benefits from a thicker, non-glossy paper-stock. Square-bound, Detective Comics lacks advertisements and runs 144 pages; comprising twelve tales and the here and there pin-up.
Art by Lee Bermejo based on the 1940s Batman serial
Each of these stories offers something good for the Batman Family fan. Even the writers I usually do not care for impressed me, and all the artists give their best.
A death trap courtesy of the current Detective Comics creative team opens the anthology.
For some, death traps are hoary melodramatic cliches. I do not share that opinion. I like a good death trap. I think against larger than life heroes, they fit with the arrogance of the villain.
Tomasi revamps this particular Houdini stunt. Through the villain's anticipations, he factors in Batman's past escapes, his skills and his tactics.
The gist of Tomasi's story allows for Brad Anderson, Andrew Hennessy and Nathan Fairbairn to dedicate a few pages to each of Batman's rogues gallery and gorgeously illustrate either actual moments from the Caped Crusader's crime fighting career or unseen tales.
Why, yes, Batgirl's eyes are blue. Why do you ask?
Our Dark Knight foils the trap-master's ploy through a traditional Batman method. Esoteric knowledge that some may consider a cheat or as equally cheesy as a death trap. Once again, I do not share that opinion.
Murder attracts the entire Batman Family in Brian Bendis' and David Marquez's pleasant read.
Blue eyes courtesy of Alejandro Sanchez
Who killed Gotham City Police Detective Dungeon? The World's Greatest Detective teams up with his prized students: Batgirl, Robins, plural, Nightwing, Red Hood and Spoiler to determine the truth.
Oh, I should point out that a lot of these stories only pay lip service to continuity, proper. Though if you're really obsessive you can place this short before the shot to the scalp that made Dick Grayson not dead, but screwy in the head.
As you can see by the acrobatic pose, David Marquez presents each hero with distinctive visual personalities, adding to the quality. Some of this is no doubt stage direction from Bendis, but the subtle movements of the characters I expect is all Marquez.
The next tale by Matt Fraction is a dark comedy in which we discover the Joker gives Batman a birthday present every year.
I'm not a fan of villains. You'll never see me wearing a tee-shirt that celebrates the Joker. Even I must admit. This investigation is funny and twisted. It brilliantly demonstrates that chaos is the logician's nemesis.
Chip Zdarsky, known more for his writing, provides technically accomplished artwork. You may be very surprised by how good Zdarsky's tableau looks and how it resonates through a range of mood and tone.
Greg Rucka is a former Batman writer. He also created the highly regarded spin-off Gotham Central which focused on Gotham PD. His contribution to Detective Comics blends the two works.
The focus character is a rookie police officer. Hence the name of the story. Batman operates tangentially.
The rookie enters Gotham Academy and stays clean while operating amongst a group of corrupt cops.
Smudges of dirty cops in Gotham City always irk me. In Year One, Batman waged a war on Gotham corruption. That campaign should have been successful at the very least by Year Three.
It's believable that some dirty cops like flies may gather and think to start up the band again. It's unbelievable to think Batman would let that happen.
Rucka's story works as a personal vignette for the rookie as well as an exemplar of Batman's decisive presence. He inspires and determines the honesty of Gotham Central.
Artist Eduardo Risso presents duality in a brevity of pages. He contrasts the realism of the Gotham City street against the fantasy of a hero in black who lives in a cave with a magnificent computer and a robot trophy dinosaur.
James Tynion's "Ghost Story" isn't just an outstanding Batman and Robin duet. It's also the best Deadman story I've read since the post-Crisis began back in the 1990s. I kid you not.
Created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino, Deadman is the spirit of a slain acrobat named Boston Brand. The deity Rama Kushna employs Deadman as her agent and grants him the power of possession. During Deadman's hunt for the Hook, the lone sniper that murdered him, Boston meets Batman and artist Neal Adams who puts the Deadman feature on the map.
While ostensibly writing just a throwback team-up that pits Batman, Robin and Deadman against a new spectral foe, Tynion provides depth to Batman's character. We discover why Batman isn't afraid of ghosts.
"Ghost Story" is Deadman tonic after Brian Azzarello's character assassination in the bloated, gassy Batman: Damned. Tynion's words and Riley Rossmo's playful art make the narrative a joy to follow. Colorist Ivan Plascencia compliments with a bright, cheery palette that suits the freewheeling mood.
Kelly Sue DeConnick, mostly associated with Marvel Comics, presents a rare Batman story that demonstrates Batman and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne making Gotham City a better place.
Half of the tale takes place in the rain. There Bruce plays a stupid golf game with an unscrupulous businessman that's also dirty in crime. His name is Mr. Steele. No relation to Cliff.
The second half drops in a recent flashback where Batman breaks Mr. Steele's racket and uses his methods to find out who's the boss.
As with "The Rookie," DeConnick's story deals with crooked cops in a smart way. John Romita's artwork energizes the optics of the whole affair.
Marv Wolfman, scribed Batman for a short run and The Teen Titans for oodles of years. In "Odyssey," Wolfman connects the clues for a strong detective yarn. Wolfman's tale also adds to the reading pleasure by updating a handful of gumshoes that moseyed through the pages of DC Comics.
The legacy of Roy Raymond TV detective, Captain Mark Compass, Slam Bradley and Speed Saunders combine forces with Gotham sleuth Bruce Wayne and Batman. Together the investigators solve a historical mystery on the Scottish Coast that ties into Wayne Family history.
I'm of two minds about the artwork. Emanuela Lupacchino is best known for her cartoony style vividly displayed in the too quickly cancelled Starfire. The presence of legendary Bill Sienkiewicz as inker results in a grittier look to Batman. While the images of regular folk at times resemble a cast Neal Adams may have illustrated. Mind you. I love Jordie Bellaire's nuanced colors. Nevertheless, I'm curious to know how the pencils appeared before embellishment.
Grant Morrison goes straight for the funny bone with "Detective Comics #26." An above average wannabe Mystery Man after studious research becomes...
He even puts together pieces of "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," Batman's first foray. Alas, things don't go so well when Batman shows up.
Artist Christopher Burnham infuses the original Batman adventure with an astonishing amount of energy. He replicates the events to the letter but creates kinetic imagery unheard of during the historical period.
I'm being pretty cagey with the graphics, and that's because I don't want to spoil a single of the laughing Scotsman's perfectly executed jokes. Trust me on this. "Detective Comics #26" is laugh out loud funny.
Tom King, him again, and Walter Simonson also re-imagine a Batman episode. This time, Batman's fight against Dr. Phosphorous.
There's not a whole lot I can say about this thoughtful exercise in history. Walter Simonson co-created the glowing ghoul, based in part on Golden Age foe Professor Radium. It's fitting that Simonson solos in the orchestra that Tom King conducts.
For those not in the know, Tom King in his impressive run of Batman restored much of the Batman Family's classic and Bronze Age stories. I respected and enjoyed the hideous amount of Batman goodness that King produced.
This piece is the final piece in the continuity King rewove. Starting in the street, reaching a crescendo with Batman and Catwoman, following through with the birth of Helena Wayne and finally concluding here.
Before Tom King, Scott Snyder was Batman's mad guru. He returns with "As Always." Commissioner James Gordon narrates, and in this narration, you can feel the friendship he shares with Batman.
That hasn't always been the case.
Historically, Gordon is as old as Batman. He also premiered in "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate."
From 1939 to 1941, the Gotham P.D. officially hunted Batman. Treated him as a vigilante. Then, something weird happened. Gordon shook Batman's hand and in a succeeding story granted him special deputy status. Since these canonical moments unfolded, Gordon and Batman became trusted allies and at least by the 1950s friends.
The hunt, the meeting, the alliance and friendship rewound through every new reiteration of the Dark Knight and Lieutenant James Gordon. The friendship fractured at times, and occasionally it stopped making sense, but history always seemed to repeat itself regardless of the context of fiction.
The Bat Signal, constructed in 1942, is a symbol of Batman's and Gordon's long history together. When real-life Batman Adam West died, Los Angles lit up City Hall with a make shift Bat Signal. Snyder's story is about the signal and the friendship of two men making Gotham City a better place.
The story begins with the definition of a Black Rooster Case. This is essentially something that looks big but turns out to actually be small. The story segues to Batman being called to the Justice League satellite where he discovers the League detected something affecting the sun.
Gordon learns of this second hand, but just having the knowledge indicates what Batman thinks of his friend. Gordon then imagines the events that led up to the discovery and how the League addresses the situation. This is where Justice League artists Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Marcelo Maiolo express their imagination.
The editing knocks me out the most. Snyder begins the story with tradition. He flashbacks to explain the verbal McMuffin. The artists create a mini-Batman story within that explanation. Batman's called to the Justice League, where the gist unfolds. The League investigate. The artists create the essence of big blowout issues where the League facedown their most powerful foes. They consult with their friends and colleagues in the summation of fan-bait team-ups. They cannot find the solution. Batman figures it out, and his answer recapitulates to the beginning of the story and the verbal McGuffin. The creative team accomplish this breadth of plot and information, this scope of street level to cosmic all in twelve pages.
Dan Jurgens, not really a Batman writer. However, Jurgens had his run-ins with the Caped Crusader in crossovers and Big Events. He often made Batman a pivotal part in his story. In this tale Jurgens produces words and pictures.
Jurgens cleverly uses Batman's status as the inheritor of Sherlock Holmes who eliminates the impossible in the opening. Jurgens also corrals Kevin Nowlin, an excellent known quantity Batman artist for finishing his bare bones illustration. The combination creates a sense of certainty in reading. Ah, hah, says you, what I'm actually perusing is a variation on The Hound of the Baskervilles.
When Jurgens adds a new wrinkle to Batman's first-person narration that reveals the madman behind the whole plan you cannot help but applaud. The confrontation is special. The conclusion expected but exciting no less. You think the story will end, but turn the page, and the tale goes off the rails in a good way.
The final story by writer Mariko Tamaki introduces the Joker War. Generally speaking I've enjoyed Tamaki's writing. You'll find reviews on this blog of Tomb Raider and X-23. I plan on giving her new run of Wonder Woman a go.
At the same time I usually hate Big Stupid Events. I've avoided the main Joker War thing, mainly because I'm not hung up on villains. They don't appeal to me. By dint of subscription, I do have some of the Joker War tie-ins, and I'll be doing a special POBB for them in the future if I spot something notable.
Tamaki's tale serves as a prelude to the Joker War is good because of what it's not. The Joker material is almost incidental, which works in the tale's favor. It could have been any madman creating havoc. It didn't need to be the Joker. There's nothing significantly Jokerish in the story. No "rictus grins" for example. Not even extortion.
The story opens with Bruce getting ready for patrol. For some reason, he's staking out a target at a hotel. Soon, though, he's off into the night, investigating a break-in at Wayne Enterprises and saving cops from being diced in the crossfire. Typical Batman stuff with his thoughts turning to his father, and artist Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain providing a neon-noir.
And that's all folks. One last inside cover pin-up before the book bows out. I think you'll agree, this is a lot of entertainment for the value. 1027 also may be that perfect Christmas Gift for the casual Batman fan on your list. These stories require no deep dive into Batman lore nor an understanding of how he is now, just a love for the character and the want for good, solid detective stories accented by great art.
