Comics Review: Batman 289, Brave and Bold 135

Batman 289 coverBatman #289 – “Sign of the Skull” – David V. Reed/Mike Grell/Vince Colletta

This issue starts with the villain narrating the story. He tells us his name is Cosmo Dugger aka Skull Dugger, and he has anhedonia, which means he’s incapable of feeling joy. He recounts how he was attending a baseball game and used an invention to steal the joy from the batter who hit a home run. Unfortunately, that killed the player, which seems to have come as a surprise to Skull Dugger. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 289, Brave and Bold 135”

Comics Review: Batman 288, Detective 470

Batman 288 coverBatman # 288 – “The Little Men’s Hall of Fame” – David V. Reed/Mike Grell/Bob Wiacek

This is a continuation of the Penguin story from last issue where he was committing crimes based on the “short men of history”. The first thing we see is a bunch of guys robbing a building. They take out the guards with perfect precision and when Batman shows up, they take him out too. Of course, it’s not the real Batman, and this wasn’t a real robbery; it’s just a dress rehearsal that Penguin’s putting his men through for the real robbery. He expects Batman to have solved his “short men in history” clues, so he’s trying to prepare his men for the inevitable showdown. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 288, Detective 470”

Comics Review: Batman 287, Detective 469, Brave & the Bold 134

Batman 287 coverBatman #287 – “Batman-ex—as in Extinct” – David V. Reed/Mike Grell/Bob Wiacek

This one starts with Bruce Wayne at a gala for the Société Française. He’s not really a francophile, he just wants to jump the press director, Renée. A guy named Chester Cole is shadowing Bruce for a magazine profile (and it kinda sounds like he wants to be there when Bruce bangs Renée), but Bruce ditches him. Outside, he finds some thugs in the bushes and pounds them, but their detonator goes off anyway and a robotic pterosaur bursts out of the Napoleon statue inside. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 287, Detective 469, Brave & the Bold 134”

Comics Review: Batman 286, Brave & the Bold 133

Batman 286 coverBatman #286 – “The Joker’s Playground of Peril” – (Denny O’Neil/Irv Novick/Bob Wiacek)

This one starts with Joker escaping Arkham Asylum (again!). He kills his psychiatrist by shrinking him (get it? Shrinking the shrink? Yeah, I didn’t think it was funny either, but then I’m not a homicidal maniac like the Joker). The dead shrink leaves a clue, so Batman (with Robin tagging along) goes to an amusement park where there’s a big costume party for charity. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 286, Brave & the Bold 133”

Comics Review: Batman 285, Detective 468

Batman 285 coverBatman #285 – “The Mystery of Christmas Lost” – (David V. Reed/Romeo Tanghal/Frank Springer)

This is another Dr. Tzin-Tzin story, so you know what that means: more mystical crap. After busting out of prison using ants, Tzin-Tzin uses some kind of elixir to make everyone in Gotham into a dimwit … except Batman; he’s spared so Tzin-Tzin can gloat. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 285, Detective 468”

Comics Review: Batman 284, Brave and the Bold 132

Batman 284 coverBatman #284 – “If There Were No Batman…I Would Have to Invent Him” – (David V. Reed/Romeo Tanghal/Frank Springer)

This is a weird one, folks, so hang on to your chakras. We start with someone describing how he switched the Sphinx at Gizeh for an exact copy, dumping the old one into the Mediterranean sea. Supposedly, this gave rise to “another fable of Atlantis”, but in the DC universe, Atlantis was real, so I don’t know why he said that. Who is “he”, you ask? It’s everybody’s favourite mystic weirdo, Dr. Tzin-Tzin. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 284, Brave and the Bold 132”

Comics Review: Batman 283, Detective 467

Welcome to my first comics reviews. Today I’m looking at Batman 283 and Detective 467, both cover dated January 1977. Neither of these is what I’d call spectacular, but they’re both okay stories. So, without further ado …

Batman 283 coverBatman #283 – “Omega Bomb Target: Gotham City” – (David V. Reed/Ernie Chua)

Batman heads to Gotham where a ransom demand awaits from a group called Omega. They’ve stolen a ship (the Miramar) and placed a nuke aboard. If their demands aren’t met, they’ll detonate it in Gotham harbor. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 283, Detective 467”