Paul Dini's Darkest Night

Between the odd Bat-related thing here on Back Issue Diving and my other side project Gotham Animated, I feel like I've been getting a concentrated dose of Gotham City lately. I'm not complaining, I just find it to be a weird confluence of events.

The book I wanted to shine a light on today really doesn't need the press, but it was such an emotionally taxing experience I feel I need to write about to somewhere. So yeah, it's not a "back issue" in the strictest definition, but it's a damn good read and far from your usual Batman story.

I guess that's because Dark Night: A True Batman Story isn't really about the caped crusader at all. It's a story about Paul Dini, one of the creative pillars behind Batman: The Animated Series. In Dark Knight, Dini recounts a personal low; a deep depression that set in following being mugged on the streets of L.A. and how it forced him to reflect on the emptiness and isolation he was subjecting himself to.

Joining Dini on this personal journey is artist Eduardo Risso, a name you might recognize from 100 Bullets or even his other Brian Azzarello collaboration, Spaceman. He and Azzarello also teamed up to do a six issue run on the main Batman title back in the mid-2000's, and I remember liking it a lot. His art is a worthy successor to the Frank Miller "grim 'n gritty" style, and his use of negative space evokes Miller's Sin City. I wasn't sure what to make of pairing him with Dini when this graphic novel was first announced, but he turned out to be the perfect choice for this story. I'd even go so far as to say that Dini's story forced Risso to up his game in the storytelling department. While there are plenty of street-level Batman-esque sequences, the majority of this book exists in other territory, be it Dini's elementary school playground, the Warner Bros. animation offices, or a psychiatrist's office.

Risso obviously knocks it out of the park when depicting Batman and his rogues gallery as they float around in Dini's subconscious, taunting him and pointing out the issues in his personal and professional life. Much more surprising was his grasp of the real-world people in Dini's life. Rendered with almost as few lines as possible in some places, these forms morph between suggestion and caricature. It's that "thing" that other current artists like Samnee and Francavilla do so well, getting the most across with as little ink as possible. Superb stuff.

Dini's story and script are solid, and his frankness about everything makes the book feel a little "too real" in places. When Dini arrives home after the mugging to find no one there to greet him but a shelf load of action figures, I cringed. His issues in this story were all too relatable. It's a scathing look at the grim side of geekdom and the walls we introverts sometimes build around ourselves.

Batman and his rogues interact with Dini as guiding spirits. Batman wants Dini to pick himself up and use his rage at his attackers as fuel to push through his existential crisis and live a better life. The Joker becomes a worm in his ear at time, encouraging Dini to "let it all go" and live life however he wants. (Because it's all just a big joke, right?) Poison Ivy belittles his sexual prowess and calls him out for being as shallow as the vapid actresses he dates. Scarecrow reminds him that his attackers were never caught and are still out there, dragging him down into a vortex of agoraphobia and paranoia. Even the Penguin makes an appearance, tempting Dini to soothe his broken body and mind with more and more alcohol.

There are near little tidbits referring to behind the scenes stuff from Warner Bros. and particularly the production of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, but that stuff never hijacks the story. Dini's life as a writer is a backdrop, and the other talents we see from that era like  Harley Quinn voice actor Arleen Sorkin and story editor Alan Burnett are treated less like historical animation figures and more like genuine human beings. It's such a human tale. Really remarkable.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to look at a well-done graphic novel that uses superhero characters for more than just punching and posturing. Heck, even people who don't give a rip about Batman will enjoy this just for Dini's honest narrative voice. The only setback I can see with this book is that it does go into some dark places, and might be a little too "navel-gazey" for some. Still, it's a great package and just about one of the only DC things to read right now if their ever-shifting continuity and corporate structure have thrown your own fandom for a loop.

As always, thanks for reading! Tomorrow, I'll be looking at some new releases for the week and the day after (hopefully) I'll be diving into a couple of comics involving Isis! (Not the bad one)

Twitter: @ChrisBComics
E-Mail: backissuechris@gmail.com 

Riddled with steroids - Looking back at Batman #490

The other day I was trying to pinpoint exactly when and where I first started reading comics. As Morrissey is wont to say, "The past is a strange place." Mt personal recollection is pretty hazy for a number of reasons, but there are a few key issues that always spring to mind.

I have the vaguest of vague memories of my older sister buying me a copy of X-Men #1 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. There's also an issue of Web of Spider-Man my pop got my at a gas station, most likely to shut me up long enough for him to run errands unimpeded. I can "see" those covers when I peer back in time, but the most vivid recollection I have of actually reading a comic (all by myself!) is the following issue of Batman.

Batman #490 would probably be sold as "zero issue" of a big event these days, as it is a bit of a prologue to the upcoming Knightfall story arc. Knightfall made a big impression on me as a kid, since I hadn't "been on the ride" before, so to speak. I was really worried when the urban terrorist Bane broke Bruce Wayne's back and cautiously optimistic when a psychotic choir boy named Jean Paul Valley took over the cape and cowl. This character switcheroo was right around when the Fox animated series hit, displaying a rare lack of synergy between the screen and the page.

That's all in Little Chris's relative future, however. Batman #490 is a Riddler story. Rather than the usual puzzles and mind games, Eddie Nygma has been endowed with a freakish physique thanks to Bane's venom formula and gets to let out all of his nerd rage on an already exhausted Dark Knight in this issue. This is my favorite part of the setup for Knightfall: Bruce Wayne is already tired and half-beaten before the story begins, making the Arkham Asylum breakout and inevitable battle with Bane all the more hopeless. Riveting stuff for a little kid who was juts dipping his toe into the world of monthly superheroes.

Writer Doug Moench doesn't get enough love these days. His work with the Bat, and with other vigilante types like Marvel's Moon Knight is often overlooked. Of course scribes like Alan Moore and Frank Miller are synonymous with great Batman stories, but its the monthly, in-the-trenches guys like Moench who kept adding fuel to that fire. In my own reading history, Moench might actually have had more of an influence on me than I ever considered previously. He and guys like Chuck Dixon developed an internal voice for Batman that was more in line with what I would later see in the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini stuff than the hyper-violent (almost to the point of self-parody) Frank Miller stuff.

On the art chores this issue is Jim Aparo, a legendary DC artist who was still a regular working stiff at this point. His figures might look a little plain now, but his work was always about strong fundamentals. No experimental layouts here, Gothamites, just solid storytelling. Aparo would go on to be a regular Bat artist for nearly the rest of the 90's. Other than the Bruce Timm animated version, his was the caped crusader I most tried to emulate when I was a littler doodler.

Batman #490 isn't a stand-out issue or anything, it's just one that I fondly remember and may have been my first Batman comic. I no longer have that original copy, I'm sorry to say, but I have since gone back and repurchased all of those Knightfall era books. Similar to how some fans (myself included) have a soft spot for the Clone Saga over in Spider-Man, this is my guilty pleasure as a comic reader and the Knightfall arc sucked me right into the hobby.

Thanks for reading! And apropos of nothing, if you happen to like pro wrestling, I cover it over on my other blog, Work/Shoot.

Twitter: @ChrisBComics
E-Mail: backissuechris@gmail.com

I didn't count on being happy: A quick look at Batman: The Widening Gyre

Say what you will about his films and the eternal lateness of Daredevil: The Target issue two, but Kevin Smith can spin a yarn when he wants to. His love for the Bat is no secret, as fans of his Fatman on Batman podcast can attest, and his love for a certain run in particular is what drives today's selection, Batman: The Widening Gyre.

In the late 70's, writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers produced a short run of Batman stories centered around Bruce Wayne and Batman's love affair with a woman named Silver St. Cloud. Collected in trade paperback as Batman: Strange Apparitions, this all-too-short run of issues sees Batman dealing with the likes of a post-Denny O'Neil revamped Joker, Dr. Phosphorus (who would go on to be the inspiration for the character Blight in Batman Beyond), crime boss Rupert Thorne, and the now-in-a-major-motion-picture hitman Deadshot. Stylistic ripples from this run could be felt for decades to come, even as the majority of Batman comics in the next decade would follow in the footsteps of Frank Miller and Alan Moore.

Smith and his artistic collaborator Walt Flanagan clearly hold that run in high esteem, as this series sees not only the return of Silver St. Cloud to Bruce Wayne's life, but a reflection on a "simpler" time, before uzis replaced death rays and eating hearts became the new trend among Gotham psychos. As Bruce Wayne considers giving up the cape and cowl life to be with Silver, his alter ego takes a new young crime fighter under his wing.

The character Baphomet is a bit of a cipher. We know he looks up to Batman, but he doesn't seem intimidated or even especially beholden to his style of righting wrongs. Baphomet's true identity and motivations remain a mystery right up until the final, devastating two page splash of the last issue, and once that genie is out of the bottle . . . well let's just say Smith and Flanagan have their work cut out for them when and if the sequel, Batman: Bellicosity ever comes to be. (I'm not going to spoil it here, but yeesh . . . if you've read it, you probably had the same reaction.)

I'm putting the cart before the horse here. And the horse is a fun read. Each issue jumps back and forth in time between the grim avenger of the current Bat-status quo and an earlier (and usually lighter) version. Smith's Bruce Wayne is a little more candid than the usual portrayal, and a bit more human. We get all kinds of intimate secrets about both Batman and Bruce's private lives and once you learn the origin of Silver's nickname for Bruce, "Dee Dee", you'll be one hundred percent certain you're reading a Kevin Smith story.

There are guest stars galore, from Aquaman to Etrigan, and a bevy of classic Batman villains, all rendered competently by Flanagan. His figures might seem a bit odd at first, but I found his illustration style growing on me as I read on. He clearly relishes the chance to draw the grotesque and horrific, and Smith's diversions into the darker side of Gotham give him ample opportunity.

Overall, it's a satisfying six issues with a cliffhanger ending that will either leave you scratching your head or filled with nerd rage. Either way, I think its safe to say this comic will get a reaction out of you.

Also, I guess it bears mentioning that the run by Englehart and Rogers that I cited at the beginning of this post did in fact get a sequel miniseries from DC in the early 2000's, but that's a back issue dive for another time!

Thanks for reading!

Twitter: @ChrisBComics
More Batman Stuff: Gotham Animated

New releases for the week of 8/10/16

Back issue diving returns tomorrow! For today, here's some notable new issues hitting the stands this week:

All Star Batman #1 (DC Comics)
Scott Snyder returns to the dark knight after a pretty great run on the main series. This also sees the legendary John Romita Jr. tackle Batman in an ongoing series for the first time ever, unless I'm mistaken. The solicitation copy promises a road trip story with Bats and the duplicitous Two-Face as fugitives on the run. The preview art looks a notch above what Romita was doing on Superman, in case you had any fears that JR Jr. was losing his touch.

Deathstroke: Rebirth #1 (DC Comics)
Christopher Priest of Quantum & Woody and Black Panther fame brings his signature style to mercenary Slade Wilson's latest ongoing endeavor. This is the obligatory "Rebirth" issue before the ongoing series kicks off in a few weeks. Preview pages have already revealed that Priest's white-text-on-black-background scene transitions have carried over from his other work, hinting that DC might just let Priest take the ball on run with it. The man is a modern master at character work and dark humor, so ol' one-eye might be a good fit for him.

Superwoman #1 (DC Comics)
Big ups to DC this week for putting talented folks in charge of what sound like pretty interesting new reads. Phil Jimenez introduces us to the new Superwoman, Lois Lane, and the notion of turning the Superman paradigm on its ear intrigues me. The breathtaking cover art alone was enough to give me pause.

Sec One-Shot (Alternative Comics)
Sarah Ferrick's series of comic book love letters may be coming to an end, but there's plenty of time in this dreary life to rediscover them. Don't let the strange, pointy-nose figure on the wraparound cover throw you off, within that cover is sure to be a collection of heart wrenching, beautifully rendered vignettes.

Rochelle #1 (Antarctic Press)
A Kafka-inspired fever dream with a high school backdrop? Maybe. A gender flipped Spider-Man style story about what it takes to be a survivor? Perhaps. A mind-altering science fiction epic that spans all of time and cyberspace? Who knows? To be honest, I'm not sure what to expect from writer John Crowther and artist Dell Barras, but it looks like it could be fun.

Black Panther #5 (Marvel Comics)
Ta-Nehisi Coates begins his second arc with T'Challa, teaming him up with fellow Avenger Manifold in an effort to stem the tide of destruction paguing his home of Wakanda thanks to a rellious faction called The People. Chris Sprouse steps into Brian Stelfreeze's shoes for this month (and maybe this whole arc, I'm not sure), but if you're going to have a fill-in, Sprouse is a hell of a good one. Just thought I'd throw this out there, in case you were looking for a place to jump on with this series.

All-New All-Different Avengers Annual #1 (Marvel Comics)
Kamala Khan might be the biggest breakout character Marvel has produced in quite a while. (Sorry, Gwenpool.) This issue sees the junior Avenger and current Ms. Marvel torment her fellow heroes with her . . . wait for it . . . FAN FICTION! As a former fanfic dork myself, I'm looking forward to this one. It also reminds me of Kitty's fairy tale, for all of you old-school X-Men fans out there.

That's quite a pull this week! What looks good to you for this week? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) or on Facebook (Chris Bearden, the one with the Captain Boomerang avatar). Tomorrow I'll return to diving into back issues with a look at a short-lived Marvel series from a few years ago. Thanks for reading!