Comics Reviews: Batman 321, Brave & the Bold 160, Warlord 31

Batman 321 coverBatman #321 – “Dreadful Birthday Dear Joker” – Len Wein/Walt Simonson/Dick Giordano

This one starts with Commissioner Gordon at the police station, opening an invitation to a party thrown by the Joker. Naturally, Gordon dismisses it as one of Joker’s stupid pranks, but he’s forced to take it seriously when all the cops in the building start laughing uncontrollably. Batman shows up in response to a call from Gordon and sees the Jokermobile outside the station. The roars of laughter from inside warn Batman the place is filled with laughing gas, so he dons a rebreather device for protection and busts in. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 321, Brave & the Bold 160, Warlord 31”

Comics Reviews: Batman 320, Detective 488, Brave & the Bold 159, Warlord 30

Batman 320 coverBatman #320 – “The Curse of the Inquisitor” – Denny O’Neil/Irv Novick/Bob Smith

This one starts with a mail carrier delivering some stuff to an office belonging to a guy named Sigerson. The mailman and a cleaning lady both think it’s strange that they’ve never seen the mysterious Mr. Sigerson. We soon find out why; Sigerson is an alias used by Batman, and the office is a mail drop. Batman subscribes to a clipping service that sends him info about crimes all over the world, but he doesn’t want that correspondence addressed to Bruce Wayne. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 320, Detective 488, Brave & the Bold 159, Warlord 30”

Comics Reviews: Batman 319, Brave & the Bold 158, Warlord 29

Batman 319 coverBatman #319 – “Never Give Up the Ghost” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Bob Smith

This one starts with Gentleman Ghost and a couple of henchmen stealing industrial diamonds from a factory. Naturally, Batman shows up to pound them and does pretty well until Gentleman Ghost uses a hoist hook to snag Batman’s cape, holding him helpless above the floor. Ghost and his thugs take off, but Batman manages to snag the satchel full of diamonds with his Batarang and invites Ghost to try and retrieve it. Ghost isn’t stupid enough to approach Batman (who has almost freed himself from the hook), but vows he’ll get the diamonds sooner or later. By the time Batman does get free, Ghost is long gone. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 319, Brave & the Bold 158, Warlord 29”

Comics Reviews: Batman 318, Detective 487, Brave & the Bold 157, Warlord 28

Batman 318 coverBatman #318 – “My City Burns at Both Ends—It Will Not Last the Night” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with Batman trying to rescue a kid from a burning building. He falls off, but manages to bounce off some telephone wires and land on a pile of fire hoses. Yeah, it sounds impossible, but he is Batman, after all. Commissioner Gordon sees someone on the roof on the burning building and Batman heads up to check it out. It turns out to be the arsonist, dressed in a weird costume and calling himself Firebug. His costume includes napalm projectors and he lights another fire in front of Batman while ranting about how the building has killed enough people and it’s now being killed in turn. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 318, Detective 487, Brave & the Bold 157, Warlord 28”

Comics Reviews: Batman 317, Brave & the Bold 156, Warlord 27

Batman 317 coverBatman #317 – “The 1001 Clue Caper” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with a cop giving Batman a package at the police station. It’s a book of 1001 Riddles, which tells Batman the Riddler is back to his old tricks. Robin (who’s still helping Batman during his break from university) wonders how they can figure out which riddle in the book is the one Riddler will plan his crimes around. Batman says there’s no point trying to guess; they just have to wait for Riddler to make a move … which doesn’t take long. Riddler steals a truck full of chickens (!) not long after, which hardly helps since there are plenty of riddles about chickens. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 317, Brave & the Bold 156, Warlord 27”

Comics Reviews: Batman 316, Detective 486, Brave & the Bold 155, Warlord 26

Batman 316 coverBatman #316 – “Color Me Deadly” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with some punk being pursued through an alley by Robin. The punk is cut off by Batman and freaks out, surrendering immediately. Apparently, he started a fire at the hospital, which makes Robin want to pound him a bit, but he decides the guy is probably some kind of nut and forgoes the beating. The Dynamic Duo hauls the dude back for the cops and Commissioner Gordon says the fire is already out and there was only some minor damage on the tenth floor. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 316, Detective 486, Brave & the Bold 155, Warlord 26”

Comics Reviews: Batman 315, Brave & the Bold 154, Warlord 25

Batman 315 coverBatman #315 – “Danger on the Wing” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with Batman catching a couple of punks inside City Hall in the middle of the night. They attack, one with a knife and the other with a nunchaku, and Batman pounds both of them. A third thief is on the roof, letting a kite fly off into the night, and when Batman confronts him, he’s smart enough to give up without getting his ass beat. The kite flies through Gotham, going around corners and moving against the wind. It finally comes to rest on another rooftop across town, where it’s eagerly grabbed by the dreaded … Kite Man! Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 315, Brave & the Bold 154, Warlord 25”

Comics Reviews: Batman 314, Detective 485, Brave & the Bold 153, Warlord 24

Batman 314 coverBatman #314 – “Once Beaten, Twice Sly” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one opens with Batman in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. An informant has told him that Two-Face took the stolen nuclear codes to New Orleans, so Batman has come looking for him. Batman wants to get the stolen nuke codes  back, but he also wants to prevent King Faraday from killing Two-Face. Batman rousts a local pickpocket, who gives him Two-Face’s hiding place. Minutes after Batman leaves, King Faraday threatens to blow the punk away if he doesn’t cough up the info again. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 314, Detective 485, Brave & the Bold 153, Warlord 24”

Comics Reviews: Batman 313, Brave & the Bold 152, Warlord 23

Batman 313 coverBatman #313 – “Two for the Money” – Len Wein/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with a guy making an anonymous call to the police to report the theft of some nuclear codes (which we saw last issue). The tipster turns out to be the hacker who stole the codes, but before he can tell the cops where he hid them, his boss shows up to chastise him. Since his boss is Two-Face, that’s gonna be some heavy chastising. The hacker says he was worried about Two-Face’s idea of selling the codes to a foreign country. Two-Face says he wasn’t planning on committing treason, he was going to work out some kind of a double-cross. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 313, Brave & the Bold 152, Warlord 23”

Comics Reviews: Batman 312, Detective 484, Brave & the Bold 151, Warlord 22

Batman 312 coverBatman #312 – “A Caper a Day Keeps the Batman at Bay” – Len Wein/Walt Simonson/Dick Giordano

This one starts in the middle of the action, with Calendar Man robbing the Metropolitan Museum. It doesn’t really look like Calendar Man because he’s dressed as Odin; why is he dressed as Odin? Because it’s Wednesday and Wednesday is named after Woden, who was also known as Odin. Calendar Man has gone all out in his dress-up, even riding an eight-wheeled motorbike in reference to Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. Batman swoops in on his whirly-bat and goes after Calendar Man, who tries to flee into a tunnel. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 312, Detective 484, Brave & the Bold 151, Warlord 22”