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| Batman 530 & 546 covers by Kelley Jones |
The nineties in comic land are not my favourite time by a sea mile. It seemed that the vast majority of comics, from publishers large and small, focused on the supposedly “Comics Aren’t Just For Kids Anymore” paradigm of violence and posturing equals intelligent and adult stories. But what do I know, it must have sold otherwise it wouldn’t have been on the stands, would it? And is there anyone as dark, gritty or posturing as the Dark Knight himself, the Batman, he’d certainly be an obvious choice for a nineties high octane re-vamp and indeed he was re-vamped with the Knightfall saga. But then, after
Knightfall, DC did something very unexpected, instead of making Batman an Image or X-Book clone they took him in another direction entirely. Yes, there was still darkness blanketing the road ahead, but this was a different kind of darkness, not the brutal and weaponized slaughter doled out by the macho louts in multi-pocketed harnesses that featured in most of the “Hot Titles”. Oh no, this was a stygian darkness, gothic, forbidding and populated by ghouls, demons, mad men and sinister forces both supernatural and mundane. A shivering cold darkness, created in equal measure by writer and artist, few would describe it as definitive Batman, but by God, it worked a treat for me.
Love it or hate it (and most people do tend to have a strong reaction one way or the other) Batman # 515-552 are some of the most memorable comics ever produced. Ironically, I distinctly recall purchasing each issue as they were released and wishing desperately each month that Jones would be replaced by the next issue. Oh, the folly of youth, I was a teenager at the time and a three year run is a long time to read a comic that has an artist that you don’t appreciate working on it. But even with my limited budget I did continue to buy the book, month on month, without fail. Why on earth would I do this? It’s an easy question to answer in retrospect, they were bloody good comics. At the time I couldn’t reconcile my personal preference for “realistic” art (such as Jim Aparo and Graham Nolan) with how well Kelley Jones grotesque approach worked with Doug Moench’s writing. So whilst Jones’ style is not my preferred choice, it was so well executed that I couldn’t help but be absorbed into the twisted and gothic world that writer and artist created. But as a teen, all I could see was an artistic style that didn’t appeal whilst missing the point that it was intended to be monstrous and discomforting. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I’ve finally gotten around to re-reading these wonderful little gems again.
This run benefits greatly from not being involved in many multi-book crossover stories. Moench and Jones are generally allowed to carve their own little macabre niche into the broader DC Universe. What crossovers there are, are really only marginally connected to the bigger picture with the exception of a few issues that aren’t pencilled by Jones and therefore aren’t relevant to this post. This allows the creators to establish there own, more fluid continuity without being shackled to the ideas of others. I’ve never been too concerned about continuity and these issues show that with the right team, it can be ignored or incorporated into issues as needs be without any loss of artistic vision.
The opening issue of the run fails to set the tone for the comics that follow. Although, in defence of the creative team, I’ve read in interview that the story was written before Moench new that Jones would be pencilling it. It shows. It plays to none of the strengths of Jones and it’s part of a crossover with Detective Comics. It’s a relatively run-of-the-mill super-hero crime caper that doesn’t fit well with Jones gothic and grotesque style, it’s not the worst Batman story I’ve read, but it’s far from memorable, in fact I’d forgotten until I double checked that Jones had even been involved with the “Troika” storyline.
The next two-parter was definitely written to play to Jones strengths. Here we see the paranoid conspiracy theories and darker side of human nature that Moench excels in writing over the rest of the run, begin to emerge. This is where the book finds it’s feet and sets it’s tone. Spooky.
I was planning on writing a breakdown for each story arc, but after looking on the internet, there’s already an excellent one out there at
And it is true, you should own them.
Moench had a little bit of negative response regarding his use of the supernatural in the mainstream Batman comic. It’s true that there is more use of the supernatural in these issues than there is in any other run on Batman but it’s woven into stories that feature long established mystical DC characters including the Spectre, Ragman, Deadman and Etrigan, with those last two guests warranting a special mention.
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Deadman appears in issues 530-532, a high point in the Moench/Jones run. Through a chance encounter, Batman is taken out of Gotham for an adventure with Deadman in
Peru. It features Mummies, mercenaries and a wily old Shaman, all brilliantly scripted by Moench but also broadens the scope of Jones art to encompass lush jungle settings which he draws incredibly well, as prior to this, other than one issue taking place in a swamp, all of his backgrounds are the crumbling Victorian inspired Gotham buildings (which are still great to look at, but a change of environment now and again has never done Batman any harm). Jones Deadman is a freakish, skeletal husk who is mostly shown in contorted postures as though his muscles have shrunk and pulled his limbs into unnatural rigored positions. Again, spooky. The Deadman three-parter is also Moench’s first use of dialogue pages, where one page is given over almost entirely to text. I can only assume that this met with a positive reaction from readers as he uses it a few more times during his run. I found that it allowed a lot of narrative to be imparted to the reader without taking up pages and pages of head shots that slow down the visual story and art. Not something I’d wish to see in every issue, but Moench uses it sparingly and appropriately.
The other three-parter that is particularly enjoyable is the pairing of the Joker and Etrigan the Demon. Apart from all other aspects regarding the quality of Moench’s writing, what stood out was the research that he put in to this storyline. It’s not your average comic book magic that’s on show here, there are plenty of nods to real world demonology and persons associated with it, plus a bit of alchemy thrown in for good measure and of course, a healthy dose of rhyming verse. Ending with a little twist in the tale that puts the relationship between Joker, Etrigan and magic in the DC Universe in to a new light.
It would be remiss of me to write about this run without mentioning the supporting cast that is used so well. Mortimer Gunt, the coroner, has a recurring and often amusing role, unfortunately, I don’t think he’s been used much since Moench’s run ended. Bullock abounds, a character not created by Moench but used to great effect by him in both of his stints writing Batman. Moench is the one writer that has managed to imbue Bullock with a genuine personality outside of his immediate uses to the plot. There’s also Hardback, Montoya and a very believable relationship between James and Sarah Gordon that Moench fleshes out admirably.
Moench also spends time re-establishing Bruce Wayne as a character. His main device for doing so is the introduction of a romantic foil in Vesper Fairchild. Through Vesper, Bruce is able to establish himself as a person, or at least half a person rather than a mask that Batman wears for convenience. The initial coming together of the two does seem a little rushed, but it slows down shortly after and is well on it’s way to being a long term relationship, which is cut short by the untimely breaking of the Moench/Jones partnership.
Regarding the end of the run, from what I’ve read elsewhere, it appears that Moench and Jones felt they had at least another year of work together on Batman, but editorial policy called for the return of the multi-part epic crossover storylines that had been avoided by the creative team so successfully for the previous few of years. Jones at least felt that he was not the right artist to continue on the book as he would be obliged to root his vision into the larger Batman continuity, so he quit. Leaving one particular plot thread unresolved, we returned to a continuity heavy rendering of the Dark Knight’s continuing odyssey.
What plot thread? I hear you ask.
Well, several issues, both in the story pages and a few mentions in Doug’s replies to mail in the letter pages, refer to the shadowy Puppeteer character. He’s never referenced directly within the story, but there he is, often observing the Batman unnoticed, from the shadows. Always seen with one hand operating a Batman marionette. Jones has recently confirmed that had he not left the book, as part of their next years worth of stories together he and Moench intended to introduce the Puppeteer as a major villain to Batman. A villain that was fully aware of Bruce Wayne’s nocturnal activities. But alas, the big earthquake came along and ruined everything.
I wonder what could have been.
Unfortunately, the DC reprint policy says that issues from this era that are not part of a continuing story, don't get reprinted as collected editions. Hey, I'm ok, I've got the original issues. But this is a real shame. Some of the best Batman stories of the modern age won't be made available to the casual Amazon or book store browser. DC seem to have an unfathomable policy in regard to what the do and do not collect. (I'm not saying any nore about that. If I do decide to rant about it, it'll warrant a seperate post.) So if you want to read them, you'll have to get the floppy skinnies. Having said that, they're well worth the effort of tracking down.
Happy hunting.
Mad Thinker Reads………..
Batman from the nineties by Doug Moench & Kelley Jones.
M.T.
