Unspoken Issues #167 - Batman: Black and White #1 (1996)

WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:04.719
Unspoken Issues.
2
00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:11.400
All right, okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Unspoken
3
00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:17.640
Issues Podcast. Ninety six Number ones rolls on and we
4
00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:22.320
are about to talk about April's poll winner. The poll
5
00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:28.399
was as follows. Heartbreakers Number one did nine percent of
6
00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:31.640
the vote. That was our dark horse entry. I didn't
7
00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.320
pull the votes, but still an interesting curveball. Kind of
8
00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:37.880
shows how wide the nineties landscape really was beyond just superheroes.
9
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:40.799
Then we got Spider Man, a Legacy of Evil Number one,
10
00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.560
a Marvel comic, coming in at sixteen percent. A bit
11
00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:45.759
of a sleeper here, Spider drama and the thick of
12
00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:49.079
the Clone Saga period. I believe there's definitely material to
13
00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:51.359
dig into, even if it didn't grab the top spot.
14
00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:55.079
Then we have Grifter, Shy or She, whichever, however you
15
00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:58.079
want to call it. Number one comes in at thirty
16
00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:02.439
percent of the vote. This is peak nineties crossover energy.
17
00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:06.040
I wanted to see a crossover between She and Turok
18
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:10.280
dinosaur Hunter. Okay, just imagine how the title would look.
19
00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:17.319
Oh nice, yes it would. And then we have our
20
00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.079
winner with forty five percent of the vote. That's Batman
21
00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:24.439
Black and White. Number one, almost half the vote here
22
00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:29.239
out of all four options. So, Evan Bevan's Batman Black
23
00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:32.879
and White Number one, what's your Were you aware that
24
00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.840
this thing was dropping back in ninety six?
25
00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:38.959
No, that was before my DC days.
26
00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:40.439
Really, Okay, it wasn't.
27
00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:44.079
Until Morrison j LA that I really jumped into. I
28
00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:48.840
would get the occasional DC comic Superman dying, Batman breaking
29
00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:52.920
his back lantern, having an unfortunate accident with a zipper,
30
00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.079
that kind of thing. But so so, when when things
31
00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:00.079
went bad for DC's heroes, I was usually there to
32
00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:05.840
invest and secure my future and my progeny for generations
33
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.960
to come. Oh yeah, oh yeah, that didn't work out.
34
00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:13.719
But in terms of Batman slice of life artistic things
35
00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.319
with maybe some creators, you wouldn't expect to be dropping
36
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:20.879
into Gotham on a hot summer's day. No, that was
37
00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.199
not on my radar at that point.
38
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:25.080
We're looking at the cover. Jim Lee does not do
39
00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.319
a story in this one, but when you see Jim
40
00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:31.080
Lee and Scott Williams on the cover of Batman Black
41
00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.520
and White Number one, that might make you think of
42
00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.479
some things that are going to come later on in
43
00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:41.680
Jim Lee's career. So anyway, so Yeah, this definitely flew
44
00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:43.840
under my radar. I had no idea what this was about.
45
00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.400
I thought the Black and White anthologies came later for
46
00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:52.159
some reason, or now Marvel does Black, White, and Red, right, Yeah,
47
00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.879
because I didn't. I didn't know Wolverine stab people.
48
00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:58.439
Until he is he has some stabby stabby pig stickers,
49
00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:01.520
So I can't remember, got some pig stickers on your hands? Yeah,
50
00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:04.319
So I have no idea what we're getting into. And
51
00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.120
I was like, is this going to be deservedly a
52
00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.280
one of the top picks and spoiler the.
53
00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:12.439
Number one issue that came out in nineteen ninety.
54
00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:18.360
Six spoiler alert, this might be my favorite comic of
55
00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.080
what we've covered so far, which is only four months worth,
56
00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:25.840
but there may be some contenders later on down as
57
00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.319
we go down through the rest of ninety six number ones.
58
00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:31.000
But I really dug this. I think this is a
59
00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:36.280
great concept essentially what we have here, and there's more issues,
60
00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:41.199
but we're obviously just covering the first issue. This is, just,
61
00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.439
like you said, an anthology comic book where we're gonna
62
00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:48.080
have five stories. Five different creators are going to tell
63
00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:51.560
a Batman story, a short Batman story, and there's no color.
64
00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:55.879
It's black and white. So yeah, we'll break it down here.
65
00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:58.680
I'll go ahead and read the creative team and the
66
00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.240
titles here since I haven't been from me, So our
67
00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:04.159
first story is going to be Perpetual Morning, written and
68
00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:09.080
illustrated by Ted McKeever and lettered by John Workman. Then
69
00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.520
we have Two of a Kind, which was written and
70
00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:17.120
illustrated by Bruce Tim, lettered by Todd Klein. Then we
71
00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.680
have The Hunt, which was written and illustrated by Joe Kubert,
72
00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:24.600
and then we have Petty Crimes written and illustrated by
73
00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:29.360
Howard Chakin, letter by Ken Bruzenak, and then The Devil's
74
00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:34.560
Trumpet written by Archie Goodwin, illustrated by Jose Munos, and
75
00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:36.360
letter by Paul Felix.
76
00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:41.120
It's an interesting lineup. I'm reading one of the collected
77
00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:43.800
editions on Hoop Loah, so there was a little intro
78
00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.519
a lot of these guys I was familiar with Ted McKeever,
79
00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:51.519
I was not. It's nice to see Bruce Tim finally
80
00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:56.639
do something, Batman A Jason finally. Yeah, but it's a
81
00:04:56.680 --> 00:05:00.959
pretty cool lineup, at least one. If not, if I didn't,
82
00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.600
if I wasn't familiar with one person on the creative
83
00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:06.720
team I knew the other. Usually I know there's more
84
00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:10.839
writer and artist. So yeah, it was interesting. And some
85
00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:14.879
of these sometimes the short stories get a bad rap
86
00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.120
as like filler. But two of the two of my
87
00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:23.040
favorite Alan Moore stories were like very short green lantern
88
00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:26.800
backup tales that he did, so you can really do
89
00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:29.959
something to eat with this. But yeah, it's an interesting concept.
90
00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:32.160
I don't know even if I had been more open
91
00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.120
minded about DC in ninety six, if this would have
92
00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:37.720
drawn my attention, because I tend to be more about
93
00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.600
as much as I love standalone issues and things like that,
94
00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:42.839
I probably would have been more attracted to the main
95
00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:47.439
ongoing series or whatever. Any of these could be continuity.
96
00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:51.360
The aforementioned Alan Moore stories, both Mogo and rot Lop
97
00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:55.279
Fan have appeared in a number of other comics. I'm
98
00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:59.639
not pooing this concept. I'm saying that teenage me might
99
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.560
not have been like, oh, some of the greatest are
100
00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:05.680
know I wanted what if Batman and the Joker are
101
00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:09.240
gonna team up to fight the Ani Monitor would have
102
00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.120
been big enough for me to appreciate back then.
103
00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:14.920
I get it, I really do. I know that if
104
00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:16.800
you would have handed me a black and white comic.
105
00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:23.879
I probably would have been I just there, there was
106
00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:27.360
not I didn't have the appreciation for storytelling that I
107
00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:32.040
do now, that is for sure. So you don't need
108
00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:35.040
flashy collar. You don't need that to tell a good story.
109
00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.680
And this is one of those instances where it's definitely
110
00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:42.319
a case for that, where they can say, here, just
111
00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:45.199
pay attention to the story and if it's done well.
112
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.120
We got five stories here in this issue to find
113
00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.920
out if that's the case, by some pretty good creators.
114
00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:55.000
So all right, you ready stories you couldn't have told
115
00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.399
in a twenty two page issue, or no one would
116
00:06:58.399 --> 00:06:59.519
have wanted to read.
117
00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:00.879
That's true.
118
00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:03.040
He might not have given them a chance, I said,
119
00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:07.079
I might not have been intrigued by this. I probably,
120
00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:10.000
and that's not a judgment on the quality, but probably
121
00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:13.160
a lot of comic readers. I don't know if we
122
00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:17.399
would have appreciated a twenty two page Devil's trumpet.
123
00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:19.600
All right, let's get into our first story here. So
124
00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:23.759
again this is perpetual mourning. Batman investigates the murder of
125
00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.240
a young woman found in Gotham's Shadows, approaching her body
126
00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.079
with a mix of clinical precision and deepening emotional weight
127
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.600
as he strucks her final moments, realizing she was not
128
00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.160
killed for gain but senselessly, and that she fought back
129
00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:41.040
with everything that she had. Through careful examination, he uncovers
130
00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.040
key clues, including a fragment of her attacker's tooth and
131
00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.879
evidence of her last meal, which leads him to identify
132
00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:51.480
her as Chelsea, a quiet dinner regular whose ordinary life
133
00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:54.839
underscores the tragedy of her death. As he follows the
134
00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:57.639
trail toward her killer, Batman reflects on the burden he
135
00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:02.319
carries and haunted by those he couldn't save, ultimately vowing
136
00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.120
that Chelsea will not be forgotten and that her struggle,
137
00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:08.959
her identity, and her death will drive him forward until
138
00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:13.079
justice is done. So there you go, that very simple story.
139
00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:18.000
Batman is essentially conducting an autopsy in a Morgan, so
140
00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.759
it's not like he's at a crime scene figuring all
141
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.000
this out. She's actually in a Morgan. He is doing
142
00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:27.319
the autopsy, which one of my notes here is like
143
00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:30.839
GCPD just be like okay, Man, Yeah, go ahead, and
144
00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.799
you can do whatever you want or go.
145
00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:35.759
At this point, he's been working with him for a
146
00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:39.759
while there was a magnificent brave in the Bold story
147
00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.639
where he's on the run from the police and he
148
00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:45.639
sneaks in by putting on a police jacket and hat
149
00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:50.120
over his full mat. Yes, I remember that, which would
150
00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.000
have been not really in keeping with the tone and
151
00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:55.279
intent of the story, but I kind of want to
152
00:08:55.279 --> 00:09:00.440
see it anyway. Yeah, well, we can tell that she's
153
00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:02.360
from here, Batman, can you just take that?
154
00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:06.000
Yeah, come on, man, we don't unnecessary.
155
00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.679
Yeah, this is probably not a story Bob Haney would
156
00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.000
have written, but that's okay, okay. One of the great
157
00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.879
things about Batman is that he can work in so
158
00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.000
many different stories and things like that. What I thought
159
00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.799
was cool about this is we know Batman is great
160
00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:24.360
detective and everything, and we do get some clues, but
161
00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.000
we never get the whole story what happened to Chelsea,
162
00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.399
because that's not what this story is about. It's about
163
00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:35.360
what Batman feels and experiences. Now, this one could have
164
00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:37.399
been a twenty two page story where we got the
165
00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:39.279
mystery and this.
166
00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:41.679
Glimpses the cul Britain Batman, right.
167
00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.720
What's important here is that she's not just another case
168
00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.879
to Batman or whatever, and that he feels more than
169
00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:54.399
he lets on. Batman solving a murder that doesn't even
170
00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:58.000
involve anyone in a costume is not what you're here for.
171
00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:00.879
It's to see what makes Batman to right. That's what
172
00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.080
makes it really interesting to me.
173
00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:06.799
Yeah, the choice that they made to kind of show
174
00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:12.120
a dance that is going on in different panels that
175
00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:17.039
kind of give you a good idea of the dance
176
00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:23.320
that Batman is doing with these clues and with Chelsea
177
00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:25.679
trying to figure out who killed her. But we every
178
00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:27.440
once in a while you'll get a panel of some
179
00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:32.000
a couple dancing. The one that I remember explicitly is
180
00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:34.679
where he grabs her hand and he's beginning to look
181
00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:39.279
at her fingernails, and then we switch to the couple
182
00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.399
that are dancing and you see the man grab her
183
00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:44.159
hand and hold it just like he is. I thought
184
00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.279
that was really cool. It was a neat way to
185
00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:49.720
add to the story. It's almost like he's getting to
186
00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:54.639
know who Chelsea is. Throughout the autopsy. This is a
187
00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:56.799
focus on the victim. It's not just a focus on
188
00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:01.879
the crime. It's trying to determine who this victim is
189
00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:05.039
and then possibly what happens to her, and just like
190
00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.720
you said, we don't really get we don't find the
191
00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:10.720
Batman doesn't cost a culprit in any way. He doesn't
192
00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.720
beat him up, he doesn't do any of that. It's
193
00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:16.320
just a matter of figuring out who this poor woman
194
00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:20.440
was before she lost her life. So, yeah, I wrote
195
00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:22.559
down here there's no real resolution. It doesn't show the
196
00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:25.440
killer being caught. And this is more about the process
197
00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:29.279
and emotion than the outcome of what's going to happen.
198
00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:31.879
I think as far as this one goes, this one
199
00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:34.879
stood out to me and this is what I was like, Okay,
200
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.759
this is interesting. We're getting into some good short stories
201
00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.000
that are going to be told by these creators, and
202
00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:44.279
it's definitely one of the more unique ones in this issue.
203
00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.360
So anything else on this one.
204
00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.440
It's like, this is like everything changes here. This is
205
00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:54.960
a defining moment in Batman's life, and it's a good
206
00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.240
story that shows you how Batman works and kind of
207
00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:02.440
undercuts the idea that Batman's just this relentless machine. He
208
00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.559
even gives her credit for catching the guy because she
209
00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:08.600
hit him in the face and a piece of his
210
00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.799
tooth is embedded in her hand. Yeah, so he says,
211
00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:16.960
she got you Batman's just it's not about him, he
212
00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.879
genuinely cares, rather than I'm Batman and I'm gonna catch everybody,
213
00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:21.919
all right.
214
00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.519
Well, there it is. That was my goodness, perpetual morning.
215
00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:30.279
So our next story is Two of a Kind by
216
00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:35.600
Bruce tim After being seemingly cured of his two faced persona,
217
00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:39.240
Harvey Dent rebuilds his life with the help of doctor
218
00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:43.320
Marilyn Crane, falling in love and planning a future together.
219
00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:47.000
But that fragile stability is shattered by the arrival of
220
00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:52.639
Marilynd's twin sister, Madeline, seductive, unstable, and obsessed with Harvey's
221
00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:54.960
darker nature. Now, one thing I need to make sure
222
00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.919
to point out here is that Harvey Dent is still
223
00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:01.200
not walking around with half of his face as scarred
224
00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:07.240
like it was. Doctor Marilyn Crane also helped him get
225
00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:12.159
his surgery. So when you see Harvey Dent, he's got
226
00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:14.679
a face just like it's a little misshapen on the side,
227
00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:17.960
but it looks like he looks completely human like he
228
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.279
used to. So Madeleine appears and Harvey is drawn to
229
00:13:23.320 --> 00:13:27.080
her and unable to resist what she represents, Harvey slips
230
00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:31.240
into an affair that awakens his buried duality, while Madeleine's
231
00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:35.519
jealousy and hatred toward her sister spiral into violence, culminating
232
00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:39.720
in Marilyn's brutal murder. Consumed by guilt and teetering on
233
00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.320
the edge of madness, Harvey confronts Madeleine, who reveals she
234
00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:47.240
killed Marilyn out of twisted love, believing she alone understands
235
00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:50.840
his true self. In that moment, Harvey fully succumbs to
236
00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.559
his fractured identity, embracing two face once more as he
237
00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.879
kills Madeleine, completing his descent and proving that the darkness
238
00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:01.039
within him has never and.
239
00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:02.759
Was never truly cured.
240
00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:05.759
Okay, I'll give you my notes here for this one.
241
00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:06.799
I'll go first.
242
00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.840
So I did enjoy this one overall. It's again it's
243
00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:14.320
nice to see Bruce tim doing something Batman adjacent. This
244
00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:14.840
was awesome.
245
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:16.799
I've always wondered what would be like if he gave it.
246
00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:19.399
A shot, right, there is a bit of.
247
00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:22.279
Dan Jurgens to do some Superman, let's see it.
248
00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:27.000
I wrote down here the surprising tone because this is
249
00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:30.399
a comic. Some of the stuff that happens in here, specifically,
250
00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.440
some of the more risky stuff between Two Face, Harvey
251
00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:40.840
and Madeline. She's dressed rather provocatively, and they also Silhouette
252
00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.360
appear to be in the throes of passion. We'll just
253
00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:46.759
put it that way. Now. Granted I'm not the biggest
254
00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.720
TAS viewer. I don't really know a whole lot, but
255
00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:51.480
I imagine this was pushing envelopes that that series wasn't
256
00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:53.120
going to do that because that was made for kids.
257
00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:57.759
Point being well, there was the episode where Harley asked
258
00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:00.320
Joker if he wanted to rev up his Hartley.
259
00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:06.320
So pushing the envelope. I'll tell you what I did.
260
00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:06.440
Like.
261
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:10.399
I love Bruce TAM's art here. It's pretty much as expected.
262
00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:13.240
It was awesome just to see that in print form.
263
00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:19.639
I believe that there is great character work here done
264
00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:22.759
for Harvey Dent slash Two Face. This is a dark
265
00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:27.360
psychological tale. It felt very animated series in my opinion.
266
00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:32.279
I think my favorite moment out of this story is
267
00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:37.240
when Two Face realizes that there's no saving himself, so
268
00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:42.159
he takes coals out of a fire and then burns
269
00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:44.600
the other side of the safe his face so he
270
00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:48.080
can bring the stars back. Really big moment in my opinion,
271
00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:51.480
he's actively choosing to become two Face at that point.
272
00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.480
So yeah, I think this is one of the stronger
273
00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:57.159
and one of the more complete stories that we get
274
00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:02.360
in this book. And it's dark, it's character driven, and
275
00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.440
I feel like it's pretty memorable. So are your thoughts
276
00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:06.240
on two of a kind?
277
00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.600
Yeah? I wrote that it felt like an episode of
278
00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:12.440
the show, albeit one that Fox wouldn't have been able
279
00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:13.759
to air on a Saturday morning.
280
00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:14.279
That's right.
281
00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.360
But those shows, even though they were generally all ages,
282
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:25.080
some of those stories are pretty enduring and pretty quintessential
283
00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:28.240
Batman for a lot of fans. So one thing I
284
00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:31.480
thought was interesting about this because I can think of
285
00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:35.320
at least one other and maybe two other times where
286
00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:39.679
Two Face was cured, like with plastic surgery and the
287
00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:44.799
whole nine yards, and it's again part of me was like, wow,
288
00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:47.759
so two Face gets cured, It gets rid of the
289
00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:53.399
physical deformity that obviously wasn't the root cause of his problems.
290
00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:56.919
But and it's like what an an eight page story
291
00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:00.200
in a black and white anthology. But that also kind
292
00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:04.319
of says something about like the ongoing nature of comic storytelling,
293
00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:07.920
because this would seem to be a quite essential two
294
00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:13.400
Face story. He gets cured, and you could blame the
295
00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.160
twin for a coming in and a trench coat and
296
00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:18.920
or underwear if you want to, but this is all
297
00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:24.480
on Harvey. Okay, it's oh she's a twin. Well I can't, no,
298
00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:29.039
come on, you you you you knew what you you
299
00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:31.839
knew what you were doing. And so yeah, it tells
300
00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:36.440
us that the outward scars are just the icing on
301
00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:40.200
the cake that that is two Face, and it tells
302
00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:44.359
this great story so quickly, and yeah, it is one
303
00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:49.240
that that has been repeated, I think after this. But
304
00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:54.400
it just it feels like I'm sure they did for
305
00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:57.640
the Batman anniversary. They did like anthologies and stuff of
306
00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:01.279
like things with his villains and this, And I'm not
307
00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:03.200
a two Face scholar, but I would think this one
308
00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.880
ought to have been included. Yeah, because this just sums
309
00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:11.200
up two Face as well as anything I've ever read.
310
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:15.759
And the juxtaposition of this definite cartoony art with this
311
00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:18.480
not at all I don't think there was anything too
312
00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.759
over the top in it. This not at all kid
313
00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.960
friendly story is just really cool. I think that was
314
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.359
one of the things that endured about Batman. The animated series.
315
00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:31.160
Is it looked like a Saturday Morning cartoon, but it
316
00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:35.680
often did not feel like a Saturday Morning Right, this
317
00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:38.920
is just a great and one our story. I could
318
00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.720
see if they were doing this now, like, let's make
319
00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.240
this a five issue story and get the trade paperback
320
00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:48.559
prepped and maybe some tie in issues and stuff. It's like, no,
321
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:53.160
you told the whole story. You expertly defined two face
322
00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:54.759
in eight pages.
323
00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:59.920
Yeah feet, my goodness. Yeah, like Marilyn laying bloody on
324
00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:02.839
the steps and written in blood on the wall. Now
325
00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:06.519
it's just the two of us. Yeah, it's definitely darker
326
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.599
for sure. All Right, you're ready to move on here
327
00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:13.799
to our next story, The Hunt, I think so. All right,
328
00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:19.160
So this is Joe Kubert's shot at this The Hunt.
329
00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.559
I'll read the synopsis here. This is an interesting story.
330
00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:26.519
In The Hunt, Batman is framed as part not framed frame,
331
00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:28.880
but framed frame is part of the natural order of
332
00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:31.880
the night, paralleling the awakening of bats who emerge at
333
00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.480
dust to feed and survive. As he descends upon a
334
00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:38.319
group of criminals violently interrogating a man and terrorizing his
335
00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:41.920
wife for the location of a priceless jewel, observing like
336
00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:44.880
a predator before striking. Batman crashes into the scene with
337
00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:49.759
explosive force, dismantling the gang with relentless efficiency and an
338
00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:55.000
uncompromising sense of justice that treats all wrongdoing equally. After
339
00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:58.319
rescuing the victims and dragging the criminals off to face
340
00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.480
their fate, the story shifts into our reflective, almost dreamlike
341
00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:05.680
clothes as Bruce Wayne awakens surrounded by the imagery of
342
00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:08.960
circling bats, reinforcing that Batman is not merely a man,
343
00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.920
but a creature bound to an endless cycle, driven by instinct, purpose,
344
00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.839
and the unceasing need to hunt.
345
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:16.799
Evil in the darkness.
346
00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:21.039
It was a dream, So what's your thoughts here on
347
00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:21.480
the hunt?
348
00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:24.960
It was cool to see. I'm sure Joe Hubert's done
349
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.559
a lot of Batman and not just imagine stan Lee
350
00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.000
creating Batman. But it was again, not the first person
351
00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:33.559
I'd think of for this, so that was neat. Yet
352
00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:37.960
you could tell there were some dreamlike qualities in it
353
00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:41.960
because it didn't feel quite like a standard Batman. So
354
00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:44.039
none of these are a standard, but it felt a
355
00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:47.599
little off. Yeah, but it was intentionally so, I said,
356
00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:52.319
So Batman dreams about being Batman, but with more bat
357
00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:58.039
I guess if there's any better analysis than that, it's well,
358
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.039
I just realized the lady that's leading the gang apparently
359
00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.480
is the best. She is what she does, because right
360
00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:07.599
before Batman jumps in, she slashes the guy with a knife.
361
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:08.880
And did you see the sound effect?
362
00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:14.119
Oh? That does indeed say snicked one.
363
00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:17.640
Of the Batman catchphrases. Not unlike being the best, there
364
00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:21.960
is what he does, Wolver His criminals are a cowardly
365
00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.400
and superstitious lot. And this is like a Batman's readings
366
00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.440
of his own press. He's thinking or dreaming about himself
367
00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:33.839
in this kind of more than human, frightening way. So
368
00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:37.599
that's kind of an interesting if he inhabits all this
369
00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.640
all the time. Batman's a rational dude, but on some level,
370
00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:43.359
and maybe he's getting into the role a little bit.
371
00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:43.960
Yeah.
372
00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:46.319
For me, As I'm going down through these, I'm also
373
00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:49.720
ranking them in my head. This was probably one of
374
00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:52.160
the weaker ones, just for me. I imagine a lot
375
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:53.839
of people could find a lot of value in Joe
376
00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:56.400
Kuber doing what he did here. But as far as
377
00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.640
story goes, this is very It was all a dream,
378
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.400
and I guess it does give you a glimpse into
379
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:05.440
the psyche, which hearing what you said, that helps me
380
00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.640
understand more that we're getting a sense of what he
381
00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:13.039
believes himself to be here. There are some classic visual
382
00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:17.079
moments here. Batman crashing through a window. Correct, he's going
383
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:21.119
through a window upside down, that's right. Batman moving with
384
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.839
the bats too, which looked really cool. I thought that
385
00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:26.960
was pretty awesome. I believe like I said, I think
386
00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:31.440
the plot's kind of basic in the dream ending kind
387
00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.440
of makes it that kind of undercuts kind of what
388
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.440
happened here. But also you talk about.
389
00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:39.000
The dream Batman floating upside down.
390
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:43.200
It also explains. Yeah, I was gonna say, he grabs
391
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.480
all three there's three people that are attacking this couple,
392
00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:48.720
and he grabs all three of them to take them
393
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.079
away and flies off with him his arms.
394
00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:54.759
And I was like, okay, this is not canon.
395
00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:56.200
Yeah right.
396
00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:01.160
Sec of Comics number two eighty three clearly shows a Batman.
397
00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:04.480
Count he cannot fly now it look cool. I just
398
00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:08.279
think the story was a bit thin, But aside from that,
399
00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:10.079
I really don't have much else to say.
400
00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:13.440
It can't an entire character defining story into ap.
401
00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:16.160
No, they cannot. I think Kupert probably just like me
402
00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:18.680
sitting there thinking like appeals to me about the Batman,
403
00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:21.839
and we got that. So it's decent if you like
404
00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:24.240
Kubert and you want to see some Kubert art on Batman.
405
00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:26.440
I'm sure there's plenty out there, but this was neat
406
00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.200
to see him just go to town here in a
407
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:32.279
black and white comic and tell a story. So we're
408
00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.599
about to get into one of my favorite stories in
409
00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:39.039
this book, and that is Petty Crimes by Howard Chaikin.
410
00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:42.759
I know you're always a fan of solving problems with violence.
411
00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:46.799
And petty crimes. Batman investigates a string of killings committed
412
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:52.200
by a methodical murderer dubbed civic virtue, a man who
413
00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:56.799
targets ordinary people over minor social infractions, cutting in line
414
00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:01.079
poor manners, everyday rudeness, believing these small all lapses signaled
415
00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:05.319
the collapse of civilization itself. As Batman follows the trail
416
00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:10.039
through Gotham's oppressive heat and mounting tension, he realizes the
417
00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:14.799
killer's logic is disturbingly coherent, even as his actions grow
418
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:20.880
more extreme, culminating and calculated murders disguised as accidents, some
419
00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:24.079
of them are somewhat disguised as accidents. Some of them
420
00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:26.720
look like straight up murders, like the one where he
421
00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.519
kills the lady in the We'll talk about that here
422
00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:33.279
in a second. When Batman finally confronts him, the killer
423
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:35.920
argues that there are no they are not so different,
424
00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:38.920
both acting outside the law to impose order, and even
425
00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:45.720
suggests that true justice requires eliminating society's lesser offenders. Though
426
00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:50.759
Batman momentarily acknowledges the uncomfortable parallel, he ultimately rejects the philosophy,
427
00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:54.039
stopping the killer and walking away with the uneasy understanding
428
00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:57.440
that the line between justice and obsession is thinner than either.
429
00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:58.359
Would like to admit.
430
00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:02.920
Okay, so, yes, I did like this story. I think
431
00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:06.480
this is probably my favorite story in the issue. This
432
00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:10.160
gave me Falling Down vibes. If you remember that movie
433
00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:13.519
with Michael Douglas. We have a guy here who just
434
00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:17.160
keeps this stuff, just keeps happening and happening, and he
435
00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:21.000
gets to a certain point and he just kind of,
436
00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.880
I say, flips out. He commits murderer here. I don't
437
00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.759
think that. I don't think that totally happens in Falling Down.
438
00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:30.240
It's beIN a while since I watched it, but regardless,
439
00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:34.519
and it's so funny because he's just I think at
440
00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:38.960
one point there's a guy who's walking his dog and
441
00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:43.079
I think the dog poops somewhere, they don't show it,
442
00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:47.000
and he's this heity two guys like good boy, good boy,
443
00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.359
and they take off walking, and then Batman's at that
444
00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:50.880
scene of the crime. This guy's dead.
445
00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:55.720
Did you recognize the guy walking the dog? No, well,
446
00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:59.319
they were in a section of town called the Devil's Workshop.
447
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:04.039
No, they were, I do remember that. Do you think
448
00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:06.799
that that was supposed to be a Matt Murdoch analog?
449
00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:09.720
That's what I thought when I saw the game. Wow,
450
00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.839
that's definitely not a seeing eye dog. But look at
451
00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:18.920
the glass, Yeah, glass, yep, And that's how I took it.
452
00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:23.640
That's interesting. So I wanted to talk about the crash
453
00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:28.599
that happens because each time this happens, we see the
454
00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:31.200
guy in his face and he has this kind of
455
00:26:31.240 --> 00:26:32.240
annoyed face, but.
456
00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:33.759
We don't see him kill anybody.
457
00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:37.599
You just know that it happened, and that that look
458
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:42.000
on his face is in the same place five pages.
459
00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:42.079
In a row.
460
00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:44.720
It looks the exact same He looks like a mad
461
00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:47.799
Kyle Chandler. That was my thought. I was like, he
462
00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:50.680
looks like Kyle Chandler and he's upset.
463
00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:53.279
Oh do you think he's actually reading the Next Days?
464
00:26:57.240 --> 00:26:59.279
What was that morning edition? Is that what it was called?
465
00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.359
Early addition?
466
00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:02.480
How has that shown off streaming?
467
00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:04.559
No kidding?
468
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:07.079
And then they did the martial law crossover.
469
00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:10.720
I remember that happening, but I don't remember. I don't
470
00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:15.680
know if I've ever seen it. Sounds great. So there's
471
00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:19.240
a moment where he's behind somebody in a car, an
472
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:22.880
old lady who's driving I think really slow. Yeah, and
473
00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:26.720
again we see his face. He looks like he's annoyed,
474
00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:31.160
and apparently there's like a ten car pile up or
475
00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:34.759
something that happens. So I guess my first question here
476
00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:39.240
really does he have powers or does he? Is he
477
00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:41.880
just like going up and killing somebody and that's what's
478
00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:44.960
causing the accident here, because the other ones are pretty
479
00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:47.759
self explanatory, or I should say not self explanatory, but
480
00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:52.039
more like you can see somebody shot these two guys
481
00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:53.160
in the theater right in the head.
482
00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:55.319
Yeah, I think he's just again, I don't think he
483
00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:55.960
has powers.
484
00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:58.359
Okay, So he then somehow caused the wreck.
485
00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:00.720
Yeah, but yeah, I'm still looking at that, and I
486
00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:04.319
can't fully figure out what happened with the pile up
487
00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:05.200
there now.
488
00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:07.960
It looks like a mess of metal in cars that
489
00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:11.720
just came together or something, which again I don't know
490
00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:14.759
how something bad had to have happened in order for
491
00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:16.640
them to think that something. This guy killed him.
492
00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:18.720
Coming off of it, so maybe he set it on
493
00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:23.960
fire after the accident. Okay, all right, Jakin is counting
494
00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:25.759
on us to fill in some blanks, and I did
495
00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:28.720
not keep up some I'm not sure that. I'm not
496
00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:30.440
sure that's a failing on his partner.
497
00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:34.279
Yeah, I hear you. There's some fun social commentary happening here,
498
00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:36.880
which I like him just saying a lot of okay
499
00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:39.480
boomer stuff going on too, Like this guy is just
500
00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:42.160
so fed up with these kids making a noise in
501
00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:43.880
this theater, and I get that.
502
00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:48.720
Yeah, but that one caught me off guard because for
503
00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:52.119
a minute I forgot that this came out in the nineties.
504
00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.440
I was I supposed to know that by the show
505
00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:59.039
or the title of this series. But the version I
506
00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:03.559
checked out on Hoop was released in twenty fourteen. What
507
00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.880
happened in twenty twelve involving Batman in a movie theater.
508
00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:10.519
Right now, I'm not saying they shouldn't have released this,
509
00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:12.759
that would have been a little too much, But I
510
00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:17.839
wonder if they had the second thoughts about it. That
511
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.279
is not, like I said, they did nothing wrong by
512
00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:24.319
doing it. It's not glorifying it, even though I think
513
00:29:24.359 --> 00:29:27.759
part of the point they make is that, yeah, we
514
00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:30.720
all get annoyed at this stuff and get angry at
515
00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:34.519
this stuff. And I've often said there's a lot of
516
00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:40.319
things that people can passionately disagree about and be sincere
517
00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:42.000
even if you don't agree with them, you can kind
518
00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.319
of see where they come from. And there's complicated issues.
519
00:29:44.680 --> 00:29:47.160
And then there's someone who won't put their cart back
520
00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.000
into the cart return at the grocery store and just
521
00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:54.799
leaves it in the park. Now, if there's like a thunderstorm,
522
00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:58.759
if you have some sort of physical disability, I get it,
523
00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:02.319
you're just being lazy and you're like, I'm the only
524
00:30:02.359 --> 00:30:06.480
person that matters. So obviously, at no point is civic
525
00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:11.400
virtue here justified in what he does, right, But I
526
00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:17.599
get it. I get the frustration. Absolutely hurt, but or
527
00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:21.400
even yelling at somebody. But it's that's the thing is
528
00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:24.680
you're like, well, yeah, this is appalling, except I totally
529
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:26.599
get where he's coming from.
530
00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:29.880
Right, Did you have anything else here? What were your notes?
531
00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:31.440
Any notes on your end?
532
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:35.640
That was it is that Matt Murdoch unfortunate timing on
533
00:30:35.680 --> 00:30:38.839
the movie theater scene. And then simple but relatable and
534
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:41.440
not the idea of killing people for minor infractions, but
535
00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:44.920
the frustration and the way people excuse or justify things.
536
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.000
It's like, well, if you did, he did kind of
537
00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:48.799
ask for it. No, no, he didn't.
538
00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:52.559
He was just kind of his argument to Batman too,
539
00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:55.960
about like, hey, we're not so different. Luckily Batman shuts
540
00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:59.119
that down pretty quickly. It's like, I've clearly we are
541
00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:02.640
because I have not murdered somebody in cold blood. Because
542
00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.440
of this, there is some type of argument to be
543
00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:08.480
had that they are both trying to make some kind
544
00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:12.599
of a change in society for the better. It's just
545
00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:15.960
civic virtue is going about it really wrong.
546
00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:20.680
Yeah, so I do like the way Howard Jakin draws Batman.
547
00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:22.920
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree.
548
00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:26.599
It feels classic but kind of unique at the same time.
549
00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:31.000
Yeah, I dug it too. I really wish I wouldn't.
550
00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.039
That kind of reminds me of the tick. But the
551
00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:37.240
draw narrows more. The tick starts smaller, just keeps getting wider.
552
00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:42.720
Right, all right, Well, then let's get into our final story. Here,
553
00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:46.839
our fifth and final story. This is called the Devil's
554
00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:53.039
Trumpet or Devil's Trumpet. Archie Goodwin and Jose Munos. Jose
555
00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:56.480
Munos born in Argentina in nineteen forty two, Jose Munos
556
00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:59.839
has become one of the world's most respected and admired artists.
557
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:04.200
A true original in his approach to draftsmanship and storytelling,
558
00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:07.680
his work on the Graphic Novels Center and Joe's Barr
559
00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:11.119
are classics of the medium. To say that Jose's unique,
560
00:32:11.319 --> 00:32:15.319
unrestrained drawing style has been influential to many well known
561
00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:18.920
American artists over the years would be an understatement. His
562
00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:23.559
work with longtime collaborator Carlos Simpaio on the nineteen ninety
563
00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:28.079
three graphic biography Billy Holliday remains a touchstone with dozens
564
00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:32.599
of comics' leading illustrators. And then we have Archie Goodwin,
565
00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:35.240
often hailed as the most respected writer in the industry.
566
00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:38.480
Archie Goodwin is a thirty year veteran in the comics field.
567
00:32:38.920 --> 00:32:41.559
He has written the major characters for DC and Marvel,
568
00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:45.759
has written syndicated newspaper strips such as Star Wars and Tarzan.
569
00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:49.599
Was even editor in chief at Marvel Comics. Archie's astounding
570
00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:54.039
writing and editing stints on Creepy Eerie and Blazing Combat
571
00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:57.839
are a creative feat that is still held in awe.
572
00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:01.680
He is currently a group editor here at d C.
573
00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:04.680
All right, so here we go. Let's get into The
574
00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:08.720
Devil's Trumpet, A haunting jazz legend weaves its way into
575
00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:13.519
Gotham's present as the story of Colely Treadwell, who supposedly
576
00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:16.599
won a supernatural trumpet from the Devil, echoes through the
577
00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:21.279
years until it reaches ambitious but dissatisfied musician Less Feral.
578
00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:25.359
Frustrated that technical skill has brought him success but not
579
00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:29.240
true greatness, Ferrell becomes obsessed with the myth and ultimately
580
00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:33.359
acquires the mysterious horn, even committing murder to possess it.
581
00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:37.400
Believing the trumpet can unlock something deeper. He plays with
582
00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:42.559
reckless intensity, pushing beyond restraint in pursuit of transcendence. But
583
00:33:42.599 --> 00:33:45.720
the legend twists on him as he reaches his peak.
584
00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:51.119
The demon quotes said to answer the horns call, appears
585
00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:55.240
not as a supernatural entity, but as Batman, drawn by
586
00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:59.119
Farrell's crime, and the end, Farrell is taken away, broken
587
00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:02.799
and raving, while they've trumpet vanishes once more into rumor
588
00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:05.880
and shadow. It's dark promise, lingering for the next soul
589
00:34:06.039 --> 00:34:07.839
desperate enough to believe.
590
00:34:08.679 --> 00:34:11.119
Oh, would you like to hear my trumpet? Notes?
591
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:13.719
Yes, I would. As a matter of fact.
592
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:18.519
I didn't have a lot to write about this one
593
00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:27.039
because it's a pretty standard ghost story that just throws
594
00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:27.960
Batman in there.
595
00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:28.519
Yeah.
596
00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:30.599
A lot of people are the main character in their
597
00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:33.599
own story and Batman is not. So I thought it
598
00:34:33.639 --> 00:34:36.000
was a cool use of Batman because I was like, okay,
599
00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:39.400
they sort of mentioned Bruce Wayne. I guess this is
600
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:43.280
happening in Gotha. Oh okay, we have one panel of Batman.
601
00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:46.079
It's a pretty cool use of Batman. It was a
602
00:34:46.119 --> 00:34:48.679
standard story, but it was done very well.
603
00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:49.519
Yeah.
604
00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:52.360
Yeah, so this Archie good One guy might have a
605
00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:53.119
future in comic.
606
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:55.119
I'd like to find some other stuff. Maybe he's done
607
00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:58.559
something else. I don't know. This is my least favorite story.
608
00:34:59.159 --> 00:35:02.559
Out of all of these, I'd probably put this at
609
00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:05.840
number five, just because of some of the things you've
610
00:35:05.880 --> 00:35:08.280
already said. Some of the stuff I did like. I
611
00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:10.079
like the twist at the end. I thought that was
612
00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:12.119
cool with the demon that's supposed to come when you
613
00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:14.840
play the horn, but it's Batman coming in there to
614
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:17.599
swoop in and stop this guy because he had I
615
00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:20.760
don't think he intentionally murdered the other guy. I think
616
00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:23.159
it was an accident. I don't know, but either way,
617
00:35:23.239 --> 00:35:27.480
he definitely killed somebody and ran, so Batman's after him.
618
00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:30.119
I think that's a strong concept from good one here.
619
00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:34.239
All respect to Jose Munoz. There was some things that
620
00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:38.239
I had problems interpreting when it came to the art.
621
00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:41.559
There were some moments where it was kind of hard
622
00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:45.119
to follow what was going on. I didn't have that
623
00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:48.199
problem with any of the other stories we had in here.
624
00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:51.599
There's a fight scene where the guy gets murdered. No
625
00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:55.119
one less takes the horn. There's a fight scene that
626
00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:57.159
I had no idea what was going on. Hey, when
627
00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:59.599
I looked at the panel, I could not figure out
628
00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:03.079
who's getting the upperor what is actually happening in the panel.
629
00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:05.360
I just it was tough for me to do that.
630
00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:07.920
From a little color.
631
00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:11.880
I one hundred percent agree with that, because I was
632
00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:14.880
trying to figure out, like, maybe it's a situation where
633
00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:18.159
if it didn't have a color, some coloring to it,
634
00:36:18.239 --> 00:36:20.079
I would have been able to figure out who was who.
635
00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:22.800
Can't throw all that in a black and white comic
636
00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:25.800
and expect people to keep it straight. Sometimes this is
637
00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:29.280
just my personal opinion. This could work differently for somebody else,
638
00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:30.880
but this style did not work for me.
639
00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:32.639
Oh, Mike Mignola.
640
00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:34.760
Oh, I'm sorry, Mike Manola.
641
00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:38.679
I wonder if he's a fan of this artist. Yeah, right,
642
00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:41.320
because I can see some influences, so yeah.
643
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:43.480
I can respect the artistry here. It just kind of
644
00:36:43.480 --> 00:36:45.599
made the story harder to enjoy, and that's probably why
645
00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:48.280
I ended up on my least favorite. That's really kind
646
00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:51.400
of all I had as far as that final story goes.
647
00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:55.519
So I guess, hey, it is unspoken issues. I guess
648
00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:57.440
we should pick a panel. I already know what mine's
649
00:36:57.480 --> 00:37:00.079
going to be. Do you have anything in mind for yours?
650
00:37:01.559 --> 00:37:05.239
I did not even think about that, because remember, I
651
00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:09.840
briefly forgot this was a nineties comic. But I'm gonna
652
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:13.639
go ahead and say not not in an attempt to
653
00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:17.679
control you. But I was literally just thinking that scene
654
00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:21.599
in the Devil Trumpet the panel where Batman burst through
655
00:37:21.599 --> 00:37:24.000
the window. I was like, man, I wonder if I
656
00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:25.719
could get that as my desktop background.
657
00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:27.639
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
658
00:37:27.239 --> 00:37:30.239
That says a lot. That's a very cool image. So
659
00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:32.519
that's the one that stuck with me at all of this.
660
00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:35.599
Yeah, I'll give you that. That looked good. Mine was
661
00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:38.800
real easy. It's going to be mad Kyle Chandler.
662
00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:40.800
Uh, which one.
663
00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:44.880
I want to take? The one where he's behind the newspaper,
664
00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:50.000
not the popcorn one. It's definitely the one where he's
665
00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:50.840
behind the newspaper.
666
00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:52.280
Angel left out on the rain.
667
00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:55.920
What a fun issue this was, Like I said, I
668
00:37:56.039 --> 00:38:01.239
dig onthology stories. I like the challenge that readers have
669
00:38:01.400 --> 00:38:03.280
to try and tell a story in such a small
670
00:38:03.880 --> 00:38:07.440
amount of room. Each one of these guys told a
671
00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:10.519
great story in that small part. And I did rank
672
00:38:10.599 --> 00:38:12.400
them and I said which ones were my least favorites.
673
00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:14.440
That doesn't mean they were horrible. It just means that
674
00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:16.960
each story had something to bring in somewhere better than
675
00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:19.519
others in my opinion. I hope at some point I
676
00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:21.199
get the opportunity to check out the rest of this
677
00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:23.239
series and see who the rest of the creators are
678
00:38:23.239 --> 00:38:25.159
going to be, because I want to see.
679
00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:28.280
Yeah, i'd give you a sneak peek.
680
00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:32.079
Oh yeah for you. Okay, so you too.
681
00:38:32.920 --> 00:38:38.519
I promise you it's in here. Okay. Issue to a
682
00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:43.239
cover by Frank Miller. The first story written and illustrated
683
00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:44.320
by Walt Simonson.
684
00:38:44.599 --> 00:38:45.039
Okay.
685
00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:48.679
The second one, I don't know how to pronounce the
686
00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:53.920
writer's name, jam Sternaud, but illustrated by Richard Corbyn.
687
00:38:54.039 --> 00:39:00.760
As Sternd spelled str na d or that is correct. Yeah, okay,
688
00:39:00.800 --> 00:39:03.519
I think we may have done something that they had
689
00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:04.679
done in the past, But go.
690
00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:09.800
Ahead, okay. One written and illustrated by Kent Williams with him.
691
00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:14.039
One drawn by jorgees Afino and written by another guy
692
00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:18.000
that I'm glad to see a test out Batman Chuck Dixon.
693
00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:21.480
Oh oh, maybe maybe he'll get his feet wet and
694
00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:22.519
maybe do something with it.
695
00:39:22.800 --> 00:39:23.320
You never know.
696
00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:25.599
Neil Gamon and Simon Bisley.
697
00:39:25.920 --> 00:39:29.079
Oh, I kind of like I'd kind of like to
698
00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:31.320
see what that is, to be honest.
699
00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:34.559
That's just the second issue of the third one has
700
00:39:34.599 --> 00:39:36.320
a cover by Barry windsor Smith.
701
00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:37.239
Oh wow.
702
00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:40.280
First story written and illustrated by Klaus Janssen.
703
00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:41.360
Okay.
704
00:39:41.639 --> 00:39:44.760
Second one written by Andrew Helfer who's named Son. Similar
705
00:39:45.360 --> 00:39:51.719
illustrated by Liberachi. I'm sorry, Liberal Torren, say what? Then?
706
00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:55.480
Written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. Written and illustrated by
707
00:39:55.800 --> 00:39:56.760
Billson Kevitch.
708
00:39:57.320 --> 00:40:01.039
Oh gosh, that one's gotta be wild.
709
00:40:02.119 --> 00:40:08.039
Well it's called bent Twigs, so from that sing song Tonight.
710
00:40:08.199 --> 00:40:13.079
Illustrated by Teddy Christiansen and drawn by another newcover to
711
00:40:13.119 --> 00:40:17.320
Gotham City, Dennis O'Neil. Let's see. Then we got an
712
00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:22.639
issue for cover by Alex Toff. Story written and illustrated
713
00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:24.159
by Brian Boland.
714
00:40:24.639 --> 00:40:24.920
Okay.
715
00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:26.039
Yeah.
716
00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:29.840
Another story by janster or Not, illustrated by Kevin Nolan.
717
00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:38.159
Another good one okay, illustrated by Gary Gianni. Another Dennis O'Neill,
718
00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:44.760
illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze and written and illustrated by Katsuhiro
719
00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:47.440
o Tomo. Translated by Joe Duffy.
720
00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:49.800
This is like one of those books. I read all
721
00:40:50.039 --> 00:40:54.639
most all my stuff digitally, but there are some projects
722
00:40:54.840 --> 00:40:59.079
like this that I would love to own, just physically
723
00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:01.760
and and to say okay, Yeah, I have all of
724
00:41:01.840 --> 00:41:06.280
these creators doing these stories in this book, Avin Bevans,
725
00:41:06.320 --> 00:41:07.920
we have reached the end of the episode. Why don't
726
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:10.880
you let everybody know where they can find you on
727
00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:11.440
the internet.
728
00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:14.239
Well, a lot of times you can find me popping
729
00:41:14.320 --> 00:41:16.199
up on one of your shows, even though one of
730
00:41:16.280 --> 00:41:19.960
my kids says, I'm your last resort. Now, I do
731
00:41:20.199 --> 00:41:23.119
have a whole bunch of blog entries at astros fifty
732
00:41:23.159 --> 00:41:26.440
one dot blogspot dot com trying to get into seeing
733
00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:30.800
how substack works. So I might have the link to
734
00:41:31.239 --> 00:41:33.000
that to share with you next time. But I'm still
735
00:41:33.159 --> 00:41:35.039
trying to fill that out and figure out what to
736
00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:40.519
do there. But speaking of anthologies with interesting creative teams,
737
00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:44.519
I'm getting ready tomorrow to record the next episode of
738
00:41:44.599 --> 00:41:48.639
our Marvel Fanfare show over on the Magazines and Monsters
739
00:41:48.719 --> 00:41:52.760
channel with Billy and Ed Moore. Awesome, So that's been
740
00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:54.039
fun to look through.
741
00:41:54.840 --> 00:41:56.920
All right. Well, hey ladies and gentlemen, you're most likely
742
00:41:57.039 --> 00:42:00.239
listening to this on the source material Comic Speed, and
743
00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:02.800
we appreciate that. All sorts of great content.
744
00:42:02.920 --> 00:42:03.079
Here.
745
00:42:03.119 --> 00:42:06.360
You got the Unspoken Issues podcasts, which is right now
746
00:42:06.519 --> 00:42:08.480
the month that we're in. Right now, there's been a
747
00:42:08.519 --> 00:42:11.440
lot of unspoken issues episodes that have been dropping. Our
748
00:42:11.519 --> 00:42:16.199
discussion on Astro City, Carl Kessel's run on Daredevil, and
749
00:42:16.760 --> 00:42:20.840
then also Shadows of the Empire popped up on there.
750
00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:23.719
We had a great discussion about that and it looks
751
00:42:23.800 --> 00:42:26.079
like at the end of April was hit Man number
752
00:42:26.119 --> 00:42:28.960
one was the March poll winner, so we had a
753
00:42:29.000 --> 00:42:31.599
fun discussion there, so go check that out. And then
754
00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:34.440
of course the Source Material comics podcast where we discuss
755
00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:38.760
comic books of any era, and we just dropped one
756
00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:41.559
right out of the blue. It's called Tagg and Bank
757
00:42:42.639 --> 00:42:43.079
Are Dead.
758
00:42:43.440 --> 00:42:46.800
That dropped yesterday, so Weiler alert.
759
00:42:48.480 --> 00:42:51.840
And if you like Star Wars, I'm telling you check
760
00:42:51.920 --> 00:42:52.800
that discussion out.
761
00:42:52.880 --> 00:42:53.679
That was a lot of fun.
762
00:42:54.079 --> 00:42:56.559
And then of course Snap Material where me and Evan
763
00:42:56.599 --> 00:42:58.760
Bevans get together and we talk Marvel snaps, so check
764
00:42:58.840 --> 00:43:02.760
that out as well. That's it. Ninety six number ones,
765
00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:05.000
March is on. We are going to be going into
766
00:43:06.039 --> 00:43:08.320
May's poll winter next time you hear us at the
767
00:43:08.400 --> 00:43:10.880
end of June, so we will talk to you then
768
00:43:11.719 --> 00:43:12.360
have a.
769
00:43:12.719 --> 00:43:15.440
Good one bye bye, an Archie good one, an Archie
770
00:43:15.480 --> 00:43:15.840
good one.
771
00:43:17.719 --> 00:43:18.480
Yes, indeed,