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(PART FOUR)
BATMAN
#351
(SEPTEMBER 1982)
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In 1981, industry legend
Gene Colan - following in the footsteps of
many of his former colleagues - left his
longtime employer Marvel Comics to work for
DC. His dense and atmospheric style which,
characterized by a cinematographic quality in
his use of fluid figure drawing and the use
of shadows, was particularly well suited for
the Darknight Detective. After his first ever
Batman work appeared in Batman #340
(October 1981) he became one of the regular
Batman artists both in his namesake title and
Detective Comics.
Starting with Batman
#349 (cover date July 1982), writer Gerry
Conway had Gene Colan draw once again what
had become a cornerstone of his success and
fame from back in the days when he was
pencilling Marvel's Tomb of
Dracula: vampires. In a
multi-part story which crossed over between
the two Batman titles, Conway and Colan
created a surreal and supernatural fantasy
which saw both Batman and Robin touched by
the mark of the vampire...
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BATMAN
#351
September
1982
"What Stalks the
Gotham Night ?"
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Story
- Gerry Conway
Art - Gene Colan
Inks - Tony DeZuniga
Colours - Adrienne Roy
Lettering - Ben Oda
Editor - Dick Giordano
Cover - Ernie Colon & Dick Giordano
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"HIS
FANGS DRIP BLOOD,
HIS EYES GLAZED IN THE GRIP OF A LIVING
NIGHTMARE.
SOMEHWERE, DEEP WITHIN,
THE SHARDS OF HIS ALMOST BROKEN SOUL CRY
OUT IN PAIN...
AND DESPAIR OF ALL HOPE."
PLOT
SUMMARY
As Dick Grayson sets
Vicki Vale off at her apartment, they are
both being watched by a vampiric Batman
who can barely subdue his now inherent
raw instincts. Nevertheless, his subsonic
growl keeps Dick at bay who desists
satisfying his blood lust on Vicki. As
soon as she is inside the building and
thus safe, the Darknight Detective swoops
down on Dick and knocks him out, enraged
that he would have even considered
turning Vicki into the same kind of
monster which Robin and Batman now find
themselves to be.
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| Back at
Wayne Manor, an impressive - and startling -
demonstration of Christopher Chance's ability to
impersonate Bruce Wayne even manages to fool Alfred.
However, as Chance (otherwise known as The Human Target)
reveals himself, Alfred is summoned to the Batcave by a
secret code. Leaving his guest for a moment, Alfred finds
that the Batman has brought Dick with him. Barely able to
fight his own strong impulses for blood, the Darknight
Detectives straps a furiously resisting Dick to a
recliner bench. The entire scene is so otherworldly and
menacing that Alfred takes up Father Green's offer by
calling him at St Jude's Hospital, asking for help in an
emergency... |
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| A few moments later, Chance
is somewhat puzzled to see Alfred usher in a
priest and now feels almost certain that his
original suspicions are real and that hiring him
to prevent Bruce Wayne from falling victim to a
murderous attack is nothing but a phony
pretext... Surely, there must be more to
Bruce Wayne than meets the eye, and Chance is
determined to find out what is really going on -
but then finds that, curiously enough, Alfred and
the priest are nowhere to be found inside the
house...
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| This, of
course, is because Alfred has led Father Green down to
the Batcave - trying to preserve as much of Bruce Wayne's
secret identity as possible - where the priest informs
the Darknight Detective that an antidote exists in the
form of a serum, which must, however, be made from the
monster's own blood. |
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Without
hesitation, Father Green joins
Batman in the Batmobile, and they
speed off towards the mansion
occupied by Dala and the Monk. Upon arrival,
however, they only find Dala who
voluntarily discloses the
wherabouts of her brother - an
old church on the outskirts of
Gotham - as she is more than
certain that she is sending this
small expeditionaty force to its
certain doom and damnation...
Searching the
ancient and slightly decrepit
building, the Batman is shocked
to find further victims of the
Monk.
As he takes
in the terrible scene, he is once
again attacked by the vampire
from out the shadows.
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| Hearing the
sound of the ensuing struggle, Father Green - who was
told to remain outside by the Batman - decides to enter
the building nonetheless. |
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| A few steps later and
he is attacked by Dala, but as Batman
knocks out the Monk he also takes care of
Dala very quickly. As the dust settles on
this terrible struggle, Father Green is
already busy preparing the serum, telling
a Batman on the brink of giving in to his
ever growing vampiric impulses that his
recovery is now assured... to be continued - in Detective
Comics #518....
REVIEW
& ANALYSIS
Having previously
built up the story arc involving the Monk
and Dala turning both Robin and Batman
into vampires over a period of thwo
months in Batman
#349, Batman
#350 and Detective
Comics #517,
Gerry Conway and Gene Colan now present
the climax of these events in Batman
#351.
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| Batman,
although terribly afflicted by his condition, succeeds in
keeping the upper hand: keeping his own raw vampiric
instincts at bay, he prevents further massive spreading
of the disease, confronts and defeats both the Monk and
his sister Dala, and - with a little help from friendly
Father Green - manages to lift the curse both off Dick
and himself. |
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Conway and
Colan - employing their highly
intense storytelling and
cinematographically atmospheric
artwork - thus provide an
illustration of some of the
Darknight Detective's fundamental
characteristics in a way which is
rarely done with so much
precison, clarity and logic.
Here, the Batman - himself a
creature of the night by
definition in many ways - comes
face to face with a force which,
on the surface of things, would
actually seem to have plenty in
common, right down to the bat as
a symbol. But appearances can be
misleading, and the entire Batman
mythology rests on this duality:
the Batman only strikes fear into
the hearts of those who deserve
it, and his appearance and
behaviour are merely a disguise
for what is, to most citizens of
Gotham City, a solitary vigilante
who by virtue of his actions is a
shining hero. However,
there are interferences, and the
Batman history is full of
examples illustrating just how
thin a line Bruce Wayne and
Batman are walking. In their
vampire story arc, Conway and
Colan take Batman to extremes in
order to illustrate and show just
how and where the Batman differs
from other creatures of the
night. Most importantly, it would
seem that it is the Darknight
Detective's altruism which sets
the Batman apart from vampire
bats, because in order to put
others before your own interests,
you need to overcome your raw
instincts.
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| As such,
Conway and Colan even provide us with a lesson or two in
moral philosophy... and what the Batman actually is all
about. Thankfully, most of this story arc (which had not
been collected and re-issued previously) was made
available in a version with high printing standards in Gene
Colan - Tales of the Batman Vol 1, published in late
2011. |
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| As with the previous
episodes of this story arc, the
storytelling is slick and fast paced, and
once again it unfolds and is brought to
life in a truly cinematic way through the
stunning pencilwork of Gene Colan. The
end, however - which does not unfold
completely in this issue and will only be
revealed in what feels almost like an
epilogue in Detective Comics
#517 - comes all too suddenly and feels
very rushed in comparison to the
previously so well-balanced plotting
which really is a trademark of this story
arc. |
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| After all
the build-up over several issues, the clash between
Batman and the Monk covers a mere two pages, and the
assurance that all vampirism will be lifted from Batman
and Robin comes in nothing more than the first half of
the final page of this issue. This story would have
merited a somewhat more elaborate ending, and even if
this doesn't affect the appreciation of the entire arc,
it seems a shame. |
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Although
virtually three quarters
of this story arc took
place in Batman (with
only Detective
Comics #517
featuring a full segment
of the vampire story),
editorial was very much
trying to point readers
towards the other title,
with footnotes such as
"*SEE
DETECTIVE #517, STILL ON
SALE IF YOU RUSH!". The
same holds true, of
course, for the end
panels where the villain Deadshot is
introduced only in order
to point to the
continuation of these
events in the upcoming
issue of Detective
Comics.
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| The vampire story arc had
been a very engaging and lengthy crossover between
several issues of the two Batman titles, but although a
majority of the (published) reader reactions were
positive, DC seems to have been rather hesitant about
adopting a complete and comprehensive strategy which
would have seen more of the likes of this story arc.
Instead of going "all in", the approach would
move more towards having both titles run in parallel -
with an overall plot continuing across both Detective
Comics and Batman - whilst keeping
individual storylines separate. Accordingly, readers of Batman
would see nothing more of Deadshot in that title, as the entire
storyline involving the sniper-for-hire would unfold -
and end - in Detective Comics #518. |
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BATMAN and all
related elements are the property of DC Comics,
Inc. TM and © DC Comics, Inc., a subsidiary of
Time Warner Inc.
The illustrations presented here are copyright
material. Their reproduction for the review and
research purposes of this website is considered
fair use as set out by the Copyright Act of 1976,
17 U.S.C. par. 107.
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Text is (c) 2014
A. T. Wymann
page first posted on the
web 22 June 2014
page updated 14 December 2014
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