Detective Comics 790 (March 2004)

148818 Batman and Batgirl make an odd pair. New writer Andersen Gabrych sets up a strange situation. Batgirl is concerned for Batman, but doesn’t really know how to talk to him about it. He’s upset because it’s Jason Todd’s birthday, but he really doesn’t know how to talk about his feelings. They shouldn’t make a good pair, but they do.

Gabrych has Pete Woods on the pencils and Cam Smith on the inks. They make a muddy Gotham City where Batman’s racing around to break a designer drug ring. He actually investigates the crime, interviews witnesses, the whole thing. It’s cool.

The only place Gabrych can’t make it work is when Bruce has to open up to Cassandra. The interior monologue before that last scene does work, but Gabrych can’t sell the finish (especially since it’s so tied to the Spoiler in the dialogue).

Still, nice try.

Awful backup, just awful.

CREDITS

Scarification; writer, Andersen Gabrych; penciller, Pete Woods; inker, Cam Smith; editors, Michael Wright and Bob Schreck. The Tailor, Part Two; writer, A.J. Lieberman; penciller, Jean-Jacques Dzialowski; inker, Dan Green; editor, Matt Idelson. Colorist, Jason Wright; letterer, Clem Robins; publisher, DC Comics.

Fogtown (2010)

Fogtown is pretty gay.

Actually, it’s completely and utterly gay.

Fogtown is a gay detective noir comic book.

Nowhere does the description mention it’s about a closeted (did gay guys in 1953 even know there was a door to the closet?) private investigator. The previews I found online don’t mention it either. In fact, it seems like it’s a secret. The first “hint” is on page thirty or so (of 172) and it could just be a facet of the protagonist, not the comic’s entire point.

But no, it’s the whole point. There isn’t one major male character who isn’t gay. And there isn’t one major female character who isn’t hurt in some way by the protagonist being dishonest about his sexuality.

I was really excited for Fogtown because Gabrych wrote some great Batman comics a few years ago and, noir dialect aside, the dialogue’s decent. The plotting is contrived and terrible–nothing in the comic isn’t related to the ills of repressed homosexuality–but I’m not sure Gabrych is writing a comic. I think he’s writing a property for some TV or movie producer to option.

There’s also the strange way Gabrych portrays sex. The protagonist forces himself on everyone he can–male or female–and there’s no comment. The protagonist’s a crappy human being–Gabrych is constantly beating him up to garner sympathy–but it’s never clear if that sexual violence is just another “quality.”

Rader’s art is all right, but way too loose. He needs an inker.