Batman 349 (July 1982)

It’s Robin versus his vampire girlfriend while Alfred hires the Human Target to trick Vicki Vale and Jim Gordon decides to stop being a mope.

Batman barely makes an appearance–he shows up at the beginning to remind the reader he or she needs to pick up the month’s Detective Comics. It’s a weird few pages, because the art on Batman (just on him) is bad. And it’s Gene Colan and Alfredo Alcala so the weak art is a big surprise.

The art’s excellent on the rest of the issue. It’s an all action issue, except the Alfred and Gordon scenes. Conway and Colan doing seventies Marvel-type vampires, only at DC. It’s strange to see.

The Catwoman backup is unimpressively okay. Jones does these stories in two parts; he really needs three. He has to resolve the previous story’s cliffhanger, move things along and finish. There’s not enough time.

CREDITS

Blood Sport; writer, Gerry Conway; penciller, Gene Colan; inker, Alfredo Alcala; colorist, Adrienne Roy; letterer, Ben Oda. The Man, the Bullet, the Cat, Part Two; writer, Bruce Jones; penciller, Trevor von Eeden; inker, Larry Mahlstedt; colorist, Tom Ziuko; letterer, A. Kubert. Editor, Dick Giordano; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman (1940) #348

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After a lame Man-Bat two-parter, Conway does the story right with this issue. He’s got Colan and Janson on it–there’s a heartbreaking panel of Man-Bat holding his daughter here–and everything is just in perfect sync.

It’s so well-done, I can even excuse the part when Bruce changes to Batman to take Man-Bat’s daughter to look for him (Langstrom is so far gone he’ll need a mental shock to bring him back) but the kid gets to see Alfred and Dick hanging out with Batman. I guess they figure she’s too young to figure it out.

Oh, and there’s a funny opening with Dick and Bruce dropping the giant penny as they refurnish the original Batcave.

The only misstep is the melancholy Jim Gordon, who’s never really been a strong character in the Conway run.

The Catwoman backup has a rushed cliffhanger, but it’s otherwise fantastic. Jones’s opening scene is great.

Batman 348 (June 1982)

Oh, and there’s a funny opening with Dick and Bruce dropping the giant penny as they refurnish the original Batcave.

The only misstep is the melancholy Jim Gordon, who’s never really been a strong character in the Conway run.

The Catwoman backup has a rushed cliffhanger, but it’s otherwise fantastic. Jones’s opening scene is great.

CREDITS

Shadow Play; writer, Gerry Conway; penciller, Gene Colan; inker, Klaus Janson; colorist, Adrienne Roy. The Man, the Bullet, the Cat, Part One; writer, Bruce Jones; penciller, Trevor von Eeden; inker, Pablo Marcos; colorist, Tom Ziuko. Letterer, Ben Oda; editor, Dick Giordano; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman (1940) #347

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I love this issue. It’s heavy-handed to some degree–it’s two would be criminals trying to decide if they want to commit a crime in Gotham City and talking about Batman–and Slifer’s attempts at showing the socioeconomic toils on a population are… pedestrian, but it’s a great Batman story.

There are two stories the guys tell about Batman. One is just an effectively spooky one with him capturing some escaped convicts, emphasizing Batman from the criminals’–the hunted’s–perspective.

But the second one is about a group of militant arsonists (who are careful to only burn abandoned buildings) trying to get attention to their situation. Again, Slifer’s sociological attempts are a little trite, but the Batman stuff is fantastic.

The von Eeden and Marcos art is good–less ambitious than I hoped after the Catwoman backups they did together.

The other backups–quick mysteries–are inoffensive page filler.

Batman 347 (May 1982)

The von Eeden and Marcos art is good–less ambitious than I hoped after the Catwoman backups they did together.

The other backups–quick mysteries–are inoffensive page filler.

CREDITS

The Shadow of the Batman; writer, Roger Slifer; inker, Pablo Marcos. The Impossible Murder!; writer, Robin Snyder; inker, Larry Mahlstedt. Artifact; writer, Snyder; inker, Mahlstedt. The Nervous Nephew; writer, Snyder; inker, Mahlstedt. Penciller, Trevor von Eeden; colorist, Adrienne Roy; letterer, John Costanza; editors, Dave Manak and Dick Giordano; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman (1940) #346

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The cover villain is Two-Face but apparently he’s got a girl sidekick who’s the one who’s really after Batman. Presumably we’ll find out her story next issue.

The most interesting–I was just reading some comic creators on Twitter say critics use the word “interesting” to mean “bad,” which is ludicrous, but anyway–the most interesting thing about the feature is the way Newton draws Vicki Vale. She looks like a professional woman in her thirties, someone you could believe as a magazine editor. It gives her romance with Bruce a lot more heft, especially since it’s still not clear if she’s after him as a story or a lover.

The Catwoman backup disappoints. Jones spends three pages describing the backstory of the villain, then just a couple wrapping it up. It’s a decent wrap-up–Catwoman watches the villain die–and it’s well-written and the art’s ambitious and good. It’s just a slight finish.

Batman 346 (April 1982)

The cover villain is Two-Face but apparently he’s got a girl sidekick who’s the one who’s really after Batman. Presumably we’ll find out her story next issue.

CREDITS

Half a Hero…; writer, Gerry Conway; penciller, Don Newton; inker, Frank Chiaramonte; colorist, Adrienne Roy; letterer, Ben Oda. In the Land of the Dead!; writer, Bruce Jones; penciller, Trevor von Eeden; inker, Pablo Marcos; colorist, Tom Ziuko; letterer, Shelly Leferman. Editors, Dave Manak and Dick Giordano; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman (1940) #345

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Where to start….

Colan’s pencils must have been really hurried here, because it’s all inks. Except it doesn’t even look like strong Janson inks. The weak art is quite a shock given the artists.

The story is generally solid. Batman and Robin go after a new criminal mastermind, Dick and Bruce both have romances developing, Jim Gordon’s fighting for his job. Conway’s got the right mix, once again, between superhero stuff and regular people stuff. It’s a fine enough superhero book.

The impressive thing is the Catwoman backup. I didn’t even know Bruce Jones had written Catwoman backups for DC. The writing is great–Selina is mooning over Bruce (Wayne–apparently not knowing he’s making a play for Vicki Vale in the feature) and getting drafted by the cops to help them out. The von Eeden artwork–thanks to the Marcos inks–is stunningly not what I expected. Spectacular comic.

Batman 345 (March 1982)

Where to start….

Colan’s pencils must have been really hurried here, because it’s all inks. Except it doesn’t even look like strong Janson inks. The weak art is quite a shock given the artists.

CREDITS

Calling Doctor Death; writer, Gerry Conway; penciller, Gene Colan; inker, Klaus Janson; colorist, Adrienne Roy; letterer, Ben Oda. Terror Train!; writer, Bruce Jones; penciller, Trevor von Eeden; inker, Pablo Marcos; colorist, Tom Ziuko; letterer, Todd Klein. Editors, Dave Manak and Dick Giordano; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman (1940) #343

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Yuck. Conway’s Detective is so good and his Batman is so bad. And he’s even got Gene Colan and Klaus Janson on the art here. With Janson’s inks, Colan doesn’t exactly look like himself. Everything’s a lot sharper, a lot more defined. It’s a good looking issue, but I don’t know if there’s a single panel I’d point out as Colan. On the other hand, I’d have easily been able to guess Janson worked on it.

The story’s atrocious–Batman versus some moronic new villain. The bad part isn’t even the plot, it’s Conway’s writing of the character. He’s got Batman talking to himself for a few pages, explaining everything for the reader… but not discovering some clue, it’s Batman describing swinging from a rope.

On the other hand, the Robin backup is well-executed. None of Conway’s problems in the feature show up in the backup. Maybe he’s overextended.