 |
||||
(PART TWO) BATMAN
#350 |
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
| Back in the
living quarters, Bruce Wayne wonders if Dick is okay as
he seems a bit pale to him, but his sidekick seems to be
in the best of spirits and informs Bruce that Dala has
invited them both to a special party at her house - and
that he had promised her he'd make sure Bruce would be
along. Alfred suggests a rest for everyone beforehand,
and Bruce can't help but feel that Robin is acting
slightly strange... Meanwhile, at the editorial offices of Picture News, publisher Morton Monroe is secretly rummaging through the desk of Vicki Vale, looking for the Batman photo file which "Boss" Thorne has pressurized him to obtain. Finding what he is looking for, he leaves just as Vicki is heading for her office. When her phone rings, she finds it is Bruce calling her - the very man she firmly believes to secretly be the Batman, and who is now asking her to join him at Dala's party. At dusk, the old mansion which was dark and filled with horrors the night before (in Batman #349) is now covered in colourful lights and bathed in the sounds of a party. Not long, however, and Bruce is once again taken aback by how strangely Dick seems to be acting. Worried, he steals away from the crowd and has a closer look inside, where he finds traces of blood on one of the stone floors. For Bruce Wayne, something feels definitely wrong, and he changes into the Batman as he finds that the place literally reeks of an evil he can't yet put a precise label on - and as he swings out of the house and onto the roof, the Batman is seen and recognised by someone else prowling the grounds... Father Green. |
||||
|
||||
| The assailant seems to have fangs and fiery eyes, too, and the surprise and force of the attack catch the Batman off guard - enough so for the Monk to be able to go for the Darknight Detective's throat with a vengeance. The Batman throws off his attacker and yells at him that what he pretends to be is impossible... but then he finds blood running from his throat. Once more off guard, he is knocked out by none other than Dick, who is applauded for that move by Dala, standing right next to him... to be continued in Detective Comics #517. | ||||
REVIEW & ANALYSIS Following the virtually Robin only start to the events surrounding the mysterious Dala and her even more mysterious companion the Monk in Batman #349, the Darknight Detective is finally back in Gotham again and catching up on things. The absence of Batman as he goes after a West Coast based crime syndicate (in Detective Comics #515-516) may have felt slightly forced as it happened, but now Gerry Conway reveals that - apart from being a story in its own right - having the Batman lured away to LA by the Academy of Crime serves a clearly structured plot purpose. Having Batman miss the first steps Dala takes in order to gain both physical and mental control over Robin prevents any interferences by the Darknight Detective when things could still be stopped, but even more importantly it allows Conway to build and fuel the suspense in true Hitchcock fashion. The grand master of suspense always made it clear that in order to create and maintain an atmosphere of suspense the audience (or in this case the readers) need to be ahead of the story's hero and know (or at least think they do) where danger lurks. In Batman #350 Gerry Conway works this concept into his plot like a true master - and to maximum effect as Bruce Wayne needs to catch up on things which the reader already knows about... The pace builds as Bruce's inner alarm bells start to go off and he takes to the matter as Batman, but the reader's question - will he find out in time? - receives a negative answer as part two of the Monk storyline ends with another established plot device: the cliffhanger plus revelation. In this case, Conway's excellent rendering of this has the Batman down and out - and by the hands of his sidekick, no less. The storytelling is slick and extremely well paced (this time around Conway keeps the subplots down to just one in order to not slow down the main story (Vicki Vale's Batman file which she believes contains her photogrpahic evidence that Bruce Wayne is Batman), and it unfolds and is brought to life in a truly cinematic way thanks to the simply stunning pencilwork of Gene Colan. Whilst of course this is truly his own territory, with a Gothic mansion and shadows aplenty, Colan's artwork in Batman #350 and, indeed, the entire Monk storyline, is a fine example of the very best in comic book art. Whilst working wonders for the general flow and atmosphere, Conan also brings out the story details, such as hinting at Robin slowly being affected by Dala's vampirism when we see the Teen Wonder casting only a shadowy and blurred reflection in a mirror. Others also contribute to making the picture complete, e.g. when Adrienne Roy colours Dick's eyes so that readers can see that they turn red for a moment. And now, the Batman - Detective Comics crossover kicks into full swing: to be continued... in Detective Comics #517. |
||||
 |
||||
BATMAN and all related elements are
the property of DC Comics, Inc. TM and © DC Comics,
Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. |
||||
page first posted on the web 22 June 2014 |
