Wednesday, May 14, 2014

BATMAN #513 - December 1994

 

Double Deuce
Credits:  Doug Moench (writer), Mike Gustovich (penciler), Romeo Tanghal w/Rich Burchett (inkers), Ken Bruzenak (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Two-Face takes a hostage, forcing Batman and Robin to allow him to escape.  He returns to his hideout with the access disc he stole from the courthouse.  Using the disc, Two-Face is able to cause chaos in court and police schedules.  Soon, a police bus overpopulated with prisoners crashes into a movie theater.  The criminals take the theater hostage, but Batman and Robin are able to subdue the convicts and rescue the civilians.  Meanwhile, Two-Face turns his attention to Batman.

Irrelevant Continuity:  
  • Unfortunately, Two-Face is back in his repugnant orange and plaid suit this issue.
  • The courthouse basement was filled with computer servers last chapter.  This issue, it’s packed full with giant stacks of paper.  I can only assume some miscommunication occurred between writer and artist.

Total N00B:  You guessed it; Robin #0 is obliquely referenced again.

Review:  Nothing really to see here, unless you were only reading Batman in 1994 and didn’t know any of the plot points from the previous month’s worth of crossover issues.  All of those are competently recounted, without actually advancing the story an inch.  In fairness, Two-Face’s plan makes more sense this issue (or is at least explained better), and Mike Gustovich isn’t bad at drawing Batman in action, but in the context of a reprint collection, it feels like a wasted chapter. The screw-up in-between chapters regarding computer servers versus giant stacks of paper also stands out egregiously when read in a collected edition.  And at the risk of sounding like a panelist on E!’s Fashion Police, it’s hard to believe anyone thought it was a good idea to keep using that horrid ‘70s (?) look on Two-Face.  The animated series had already produced a much better suit, and Phil Jimenez tried to work it into the comics last chapter, only to have it revert back to sheer hideousness just a week later.  Oh, well.  Eventually, they learned, right?

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