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Comics Catch-Up 080: Batman #383
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Matt and Chris are catching up on what just might be the most late-Bronze-Age Batman comic there is, where Bruce is just so, so sleepy!
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Transcript
Using Zencastr for Remote Podcasting
00:00:00
Speaker
This show is recorded using Zencaster. If you are a podcaster or you want to be a podcaster and you want to be able to record remotely, you can do so using Zencaster. They also have hosting options and you can let them know that we sent you. Follow the link in our show notes or in the episode description and sign up for an account on Zencaster now to start recording your own podcast.
Comics Catch-Up Segment
00:00:28
Speaker
Oh, my dad is coming. I think he's responsible for the world. This is Comics Catch-Up. Hey, twerp. You better not be mine.
00:00:40
Speaker
Come on. Come on.
00:00:52
Speaker
We read comics suggested by you, the listeners of War Rocket Ajax, that we have missed. Oh, hey, it's been a while.
00:01:02
Speaker
We should catch up. Comics catch up, that is. This is the spinoff of War Rocket Ajax, the side project of the War Rocket Ajax podcast, where we read comics that we missed out on, whether... It was a recent thing, whether it was just something we've never gotten around to. Maybe it's something we weren't aware of until our listeners told us about
Hosts Introduction: Chris Sims and Matt Wilson
00:01:23
Speaker
it. My name is Chris Sims. With me, as always, is Matt Wilson.
00:01:27
Speaker
Matt, are you excited to talk about a comic today? I am indeed. We are going to be talking about a comic that, shockingly, we'd never read.
00:01:38
Speaker
I may have read this before. You may have, but for whatever reason, we didn't we didn't rank it. turn took a to to john
00:01:48
Speaker
We didn't rank it ah when... ch took a to gun to che Oh, what? diy did did- didy doy didter gu you I want a Munch!
Significance of Doug Minch's Batman Issue
00:01:59
Speaker
Squad!
00:02:00
Speaker
That's right everybody. It's Munch Squad. Or Minch Squad? I forget how it's called. Minch is maybe how you say yeah his name, but yes, this is a... Batman issue ah written by Doug Minch with art by Gene Colan from 1985.
00:02:19
Speaker
And I'm going to talk about the significance of that in just a minute. But before that, I want to note that this was suggested to us by Jolene. And this is – Jolene, we're never to read all of Jim Ballant Catwoman.
00:02:35
Speaker
I'm sorry to tell Chris might, because Chris ah is currently unemployed. Listen, maybe so if we get 500 Patreon subscribers, I will read every issue of Jim Ballant's Ronan Catwoman, which is the first 77 issues.
00:02:54
Speaker
Significant. A significant amount. And we I will relate the events to Matt Wilson on a side series of Patreon-exclusive podcasts. That is – this is news to me, number one.
00:03:09
Speaker
brand This is off-the-dome brand news. Two, very exciting. Jolene, now is your time to really drum up Patreon support.
00:03:20
Speaker
Now, we have to have 500 paid patrons. paid supporters, yes. patreon supporterss we currently have four hundred and thirty two so that is achievable goal We have 611 total patrons, which means we have like almost 200 free patrons, which means they don't get anything.
00:03:43
Speaker
There's no like free rewards on Patreon. so For for our Patreon. If you convert 68 of those almost 200, 180-ish patrons... sixty eight of those almost two hundred a hundred and eighty ish patrons into paid patrons, then talent it search will happen.
00:04:10
Speaker
That's good. That's good. Jolene, were we are reading Batman 383, though, because it is a single issue. And it is a single issue that Jolene has been ah really pushing us to read.
Batman Comics in the Bronze Age
00:04:21
Speaker
And with good reason. I think this is a significant issue. In fact, I think this issue
00:04:31
Speaker
I know that there was more Doug Minch Batman after this. Because Year One doesn't happen until 21 issues later. Yes. Year One starts in Batman 404. 404. starts denotes to me the end of the Bronze Age. Because...
00:04:47
Speaker
but to me this issue
00:04:53
Speaker
seat like it denotes to me the end of the bronze age because This is a Batman issue that could exist at no other time but the Bronze Age.
00:05:05
Speaker
That's true. That's true. And it's like, it was interesting to me because we see like the tail end of some stuff that I yeah consider like Bronze Age Batman. And obviously it is, ah it's covered in July of 85.
00:05:20
Speaker
So this is right before Crisis. Right before Crisis, Dark Knight Returns happens a year later, or a little less than a year later. And then year one happens the year after that.
00:05:33
Speaker
Yeah. so we're we're getting we're getting a very Bronze Age Batman story. And I think you're right. i don't i don't know if this story I don't know if you could do this story today.
00:05:47
Speaker
I think they should, but i we'll talk about that in a little bit. I have reasons why this book could only have come out in this time period, in the from the mid-70s to the mid-80s.
Humanizing Bruce Wayne
00:06:00
Speaker
This couldn't be a Silver Age story because it's not crazy enough. it's not It's too like mundane sounds like ah like I'm calling it boring, but what I mean by that is like it's about Bruce having a real and relatable Yeah, it's very much post-Denny O'Neill 70s, slightly more...
00:06:27
Speaker
host denny o'neil's seventies more like so slightly slightly more
00:06:40
Speaker
Realistic is the wrong word. But, like, humanized. Humanized. like like that's That's the crux of it, right? like Batman in this, Bruce Wayne in this, is a human being. I've never related to him more.
00:06:53
Speaker
Yes. And i like Silver Rage Batman wasn't really that. Golden Age Batman definitely wasn't that. And after Dark Knight Returns in year one...
00:07:09
Speaker
batman i won't I won't say Batman is infallible, but he is kind of like unbeatable. it It takes waves and waves and waves of attacks to wear Batman down enough for Nightfall to happen.
00:07:23
Speaker
Yeah. i mean, like this is a Batman who
00:07:30
Speaker
like admits a weakness yeah and who has a weakness, but it's like normal. it's It's normal. like so so this This story is called The Night in the Life of Batman.
00:07:41
Speaker
ah well That's what's on the cover. the yeah The title on the title page is Just As Night Follows Day. A Night in the Life of Batman is a better title. But it's more yeah A Day in the Life of Bruce Wayne.
00:07:54
Speaker
Right. the The cover is really interesting. It's like this... like white outline of Batman's head. It's like like Batman, not quite in profile, like quarter quarter profile, I guess.
00:08:10
Speaker
With like all of these like criminals like in the background, you know Batman is going to have to deal with all of this in this one night. ah like Interesting. A very interesting cover.
00:08:26
Speaker
Jon Bernthal's there. He sure is. ah
00:08:34
Speaker
um Maybe it's multiple characters. but yeah ah the The cover, by the way, is Paris Cullens inked by Dick Giordano. It's a good cover. I like it a lot.
00:08:45
Speaker
yeah There's this one guy in the in the foreground who's got like... he's almost He almost looks like Frankenstein. yeah Yeah, that's him. buts That's Johnny B.
00:08:59
Speaker
yeah um Anyway, ah i from from page one from from page one of this story, Bruce Wayne is tired.
00:09:14
Speaker
He's so tired. yeah now The actual story, of I know we said Doug Mench. ah Gene Golan and Alfredo Alcala are are ah artists with the sweet, sweet lettering Of Ben Oda and... And Albert. And Albert on the letters.
00:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, and Karen Orlando is the colorist. um Interesting color palette on this issue as well. like this This is an interesting looking book altogether. like It's not exactly Gene Colan doing...
00:09:50
Speaker
you know Dracula, Doom of Dracula, but it ain't so far from it. It ain't not Gene Colan drawn Dracula.
00:10:03
Speaker
But it's all these like framings of Batman that, again, are like oddly humanizing in a way you wouldn't see in a comic now, I feel like. So many these...
Bruce's Mundane Life: Wayne Manor Repairs
00:10:16
Speaker
ah so many of these portrayals of Batman are not ways that I would think he would be presented in his his current era of being unstoppable badass Batman. This is not Grant Morrison Batman.
00:10:29
Speaker
Absolutely. For sure. yeah um so So the first visual is Batman in the Batcave, dinosaur behind him. I don't know what dinosaur that is supposed to be. It sure ate a T-Rex.
00:10:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:45
Speaker
Matt, is science the science wasn't wasn't strong back in 1985. That looks like an ostrich. um But he's in the Batcave. Batmobile, like the the the hood is off, like it's being repaired.
00:11:01
Speaker
And Bruce is in his chair with his mask off, doing a big old yawn. He's so tired. And the reason he's tired is that he's had three long Batman nights, but also three straight days ah where Bruce Wayne has had to do stuff.
00:11:23
Speaker
right So yeah this this is a Batman who has either not slept or gotten very little sleep for the past three days, which I think is very funny.
00:11:35
Speaker
i like this is I like to imagine this is Batman 72 hours a awake. If not longer, right? like like he's he's been He's been awake for a long time, and he's like he he wants to go to bed so bad, but he still can't. He still has stuff he has to do.
00:11:53
Speaker
So he's talking to his pillow and saying, I apologize, but don't go anywhere. I'm coming, I promise. Yeah, he's like he's kind of like a little goofy, right?
00:12:04
Speaker
Yeah. like He's like, oh, bed. Can't wait to see you, buddy. So he he fixes the Batmobile. Then he does like paperwork.
00:12:16
Speaker
Yeah, he's got to ah program all the crime reports into the Batcomputer. And he's like, I hope I didn't make a mistake doing that. And then he's like, ah, now I can finally go to bed.
00:12:27
Speaker
And he puts on his robe. He takes off his Batman suit. He puts on his robe. He starts walking up the stairs. He comes out from behind the clock. And Alfred shows up and he's like, oh, those contractors are here to fix the house. They're early.
00:12:43
Speaker
That's also very funny. Yeah. the The idea of stately Wayne Manor Having like, you know, I got, there's a there's a leak at the attic, I gotta have a guy come by. Yeah.
00:12:57
Speaker
Like, they don't have staff for that. Yeah. but lazer ah These are contractors. He doesn't, though, right? Like, he doesn't have staff. It's just him and Alfred and, at this point, Jason Todd living there. Right.
00:13:10
Speaker
But it's very funny that, like, yes, damn old house falling down around me, man. Yeah. And the the way that Wayne Manor is presented in this is that it does look kind of like an old house. you know like it like It's got these like weird like teal walls. Which, I don't know, maybe were modern in 1985. But ah you know it looks out of date to me, to my eye, in these panels.
00:13:37
Speaker
and i also like that just that there's completely normal contractors showing up to Wayne Manor. And just kind of like poking around. And it's like, dog, you have secret passages that lead to the Batcave.
00:13:53
Speaker
like they better not get like They better not change the time on that clock. yeah ah But Bruce is like, alright, lead me to the haggling. Which is funny, that he would ever have to haggle.
00:14:06
Speaker
ah But ah he goes and meets the contractors. They're like... ah well, the house is getting weaker, so ah we with there's sub there some upkeep we gotta do.
00:14:18
Speaker
and And Bruce is like, yeah, just do whatever you gotta to do.
Bruce at Jason Todd's Parent-Teacher Meeting
00:14:21
Speaker
er And this one this one guy's like, well, let me talk to you about paint colors. Yeah, because we gotta paint the we're paint the kitchen.
00:14:32
Speaker
And Bruce is like, I do not care. I wonder if in the timeline this would have been
00:14:40
Speaker
recently, like, if Bruce had moved back into Wayne Manor recently at this point. Because for, you know, in the 70s and early 80s, he lived in Wayne Tower in Gotham City.
00:14:55
Speaker
Yeah. oh but Like, that's kind of a big bronze. Like, that's another thing that's, like, very Bronze Age is him having the penthouse in Gotham City and the Batcave underneath Wayne Tower.
00:15:06
Speaker
So I think this is very much like an end of the Bronze Age sort of thing.
00:15:12
Speaker
So then Jason like ah slides down the banister, and he's like, i yeah i can't ride the bus, so you've got to drive me to school. And Jason's like, you look tired, man. First of all, crazy that Jason Todd rides. Crazy that the bus comes to Wayne Manor.
00:15:34
Speaker
That seems so far out of the way for everybody else who rides the bus. Yeah, man. but He lives 13 miles from Gotham City. That's right. I mean, I guess I would think that that Jason's probably in like a school district in like the county, right? like Not in the city itself. You think he's ah out in Bristol County?
00:15:56
Speaker
It seems like it. Seems like it. ah But anyway, Alfred offers to drive Jason, and jason and Bruce is like, no. No, Alfred says, hey, I would drive Jason, but somebody's got to watch these contractors. Oh, right. we get we got to make sure these contractors don't get some sticky fingers.
00:16:15
Speaker
ah And so Bruce drives Jason to school, which is wild. In his like sweet Ferrari. Yeah.
00:16:28
Speaker
His sweet hot pink Ferrari. Yes. but The interior is also hot pink. ah Love it. It appears. ah But as he's dropping Jason off, the teacher comes out and is like, ah can we have a quick parent-teacher conference? Because I've got to talk to you about some some stuff with Jason. And then she's like, um Jason keeps falling asleep.
00:16:52
Speaker
He's yawning. and And then Bruce yawns. And she's like, oh, I see. This is a very funny moment where ah Bruce starts yawning, and he goes, must run the family. And she goes, isn't he adopted?
00:17:07
Speaker
And he he says, ah environment, not heredity. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then he's like, look, I'll make sure Jason gets some sleep. I gotta go. So he leaves. Then he gets a flat tire.
00:17:19
Speaker
His sweet Ferrari gets a flat tire. And to fix Bruce Wayne has to change his tire himself. Yep.
00:17:28
Speaker
like I wonder what would like what the story would be now if Damien had to get to school and his normal way of getting there. like That just wouldn't even be in a story now, right? Yeah. like Yeah.
00:17:45
Speaker
It simply would not. It simply would not. ah So Bruce comes home, the contractors are working, and now Lucius Fox is ah at at the house.
Lucius Fox's Financial Visit to Bruce
00:17:59
Speaker
And he's like, we've got to figure out some financial stuff for the Wayne Foundation.
00:18:05
Speaker
Bruce is literally like, that is your job. I made that your job. For a reason. Yeah. like It's never really specified what it is, but like they're just like going through paperwork.
00:18:18
Speaker
And it takes a while, and they get it done. And then Bruce almost falls asleep into his lunch that Alfred serves him. Yeah. So then he's going upstairs, but then Julia Pennyworth shows up.
00:18:33
Speaker
Julia Pennyworth, who is Alfred's daughter. and ah Another bastion of the Bronze Age. Yeah. she ah And she's like, ah oh, I got a sign to cover the Itzhak Perlman concert tomorrow.
00:18:53
Speaker
um Could there be a more mid-80s reference? um And she asked Bruce to go with her. And he goes, you ask me for a date?
00:19:03
Speaker
And she goes, I guess I am. And um her boss is Vicki Vale. Yeah. Another Bronze Age holdover. ah And Bruce like, is that going to be a problem?
00:19:17
Speaker
And Julia's like, I don't think so. She gave me the tickets. And ah Bruce goes, okay, yeah, I'll go. Yeah, all right, seven o'clock tomorrow. Seven o'clock tomorrow, cool. As he's like yawning and continuing to walk up the stairs.
00:19:32
Speaker
So he finally falls into bed. Gets up the stairs, falls into bed. and And he's got like a big old smile on his face when he's like, he's like yeah, bed.
00:19:44
Speaker
Bed's gonna be great. Yeah. The phone rings. The phone rings as soon as his head hits the pillow. And it's Vicky. And Bruce is like, oh, you want to go out tomorrow? And Vicky's like, no.
00:20:00
Speaker
We need to talk now. We need to talk now. You gotta get here. Like, it's not just talk over the phone. It's, you gotta come here to the office.
00:20:11
Speaker
So Bruce starts getting down. She's gonna come to Wayne Manor. Oh, that what it is? Okay. He's like, give me an hour. Please just give me an hour. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And she's like, no, it's gotta be right now. And as soon as that happens, the ceiling of the room of his bedroom collapses.
00:20:29
Speaker
This is the contractors. ah This is some of the structural problems in Wayne Manor. ah And ah he walks outside.
00:20:40
Speaker
he steps in paint. He's got paint all over his foot. So he has to take bath. I like that he steps in the paint. The guy is painting the wall, so he's got like a tray with a roller.
00:20:50
Speaker
And Bruce steps in the paint, and he goes, Paint? And the guy the painter goes, yeah, it's the color you picked. Don't you remember? and it's like, I don't think that's the problem.
00:21:03
Speaker
I don't think the color is the problem right now, my guy. So much as as it's it's that he has stepped in it. Yeah. So Bruce has to go take a bath, which he does. And it he looks like he's like asleep in the bathtub. he's big He's doing a full Witcher in that bathtub.
00:21:23
Speaker
He sure is. It's in his, um once again, pink bathroom. ah ah Fully bubble bathed up. ah yeah And...
00:21:34
Speaker
you want to You want to go back in time and show this panel of Alfred watching Bruce ah bathe? Because Alfred's just hanging out in there while while Bruce is taking his bubble bath. You want to just want to show that to Frederick Wortham and watch his brain melt?
00:21:48
Speaker
Yeah. You know, i talk about this being like such a Bronze Age story, but this story would not actually be totally out of place on Batman the Animated Series.
00:22:02
Speaker
No, i think I think you are much more likely to get those on Batman the Animated Series. Because that was a more humanized Bruce, too, I feel like. yeah yeah it's not all kind of awesome and It's not going to happen on the new Batman Adventures.
00:22:16
Speaker
No, no, no, no. It's got to be like the 92-93 Batman the Animated Series. So Vicky arrives after Bruce gets out of the bath, and she's like, Bill Modell has proposed marriage.
00:22:30
Speaker
yeah Now, also... Prior to this, Alfred shows up and he's like, hey, ah Vicky Vale's here. And Bruce goes, that's cool, Jason. ah So he's already like, he's already like really losing it.
00:22:46
Speaker
he's He's beyond loopy now. Yeah. Like he can't tell the difference between Alfred and Jason. ah And ah Vicky's like, he's going Bill's going to marry me if you don't make up your mind.
00:23:01
Speaker
Right away. And Bruce makes a joke about like a duel. Yeah. And she's like, if we don't have a date tomorrow night, maybe we should take a vacation from each other, a permanent vacation.
00:23:17
Speaker
And there's also – she like implies that she set him up for that with that date with Julia as like a test. Yeah.
00:23:28
Speaker
That he failed. i didn't I didn't know if that was the deal, or if it's just a gag of like, like Bruce has already forgotten he made a date with Julia.
00:23:39
Speaker
Because he's like, yeah, i'm not doing anything tomorrow. um but the the table The date with Julia is tonight. I thought the date with Julia was tomorrow night. No, no, it's tonight. And the date with...
00:23:52
Speaker
yet no they The concert tomorrow night, and they gave me two tickets. So he has urchied himself with Vicky and Julia Pennyworth. I thought he had to meet Julia that night. There is one point where he's like, Julia's going to be here in an hour. Maybe that's him being confused. He's already forgotten making a date.
00:24:17
Speaker
ah So Vicky's like, pick me up tomorrow night at 7 or we're through. ah And Bruce, she leaves. She gets in the car and leaves. There's also a really good part where she goes, you don't even consider Bill a threat, do you?
00:24:32
Speaker
And that's when we get Bruce making the joke about having a duel. But I wish he would have just said, no, I'm Bruce Wayne. Look at me.
00:24:45
Speaker
So Vicky leaves, and then ah Alfred reminds Bruce that he's got to go pick up Jason from school. And he's like, ah I'll go get him. Or alfred's yeah Alfred's like, I'll go get him. And Bruce goes, no, you stay here with the contractors.
00:25:04
Speaker
So Bruce gets back in his sports car, picks up Jason, and nearly falls asleep at the wheel to the point where Jason has to grab the steering wheel. Yeah. Yeah. and And Bruce calls Jason Alfred.
00:25:20
Speaker
Yes. Yes. So then they get home and he's like, whew, all right, you're home. Time to go to sleep. And he tells Jason he has to go to sleep too because he doesn't want to get a talking to from Jason's teacher again.
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah, but uh-oh. He goes inside, and Amanda Grosch is there to see him. Now, you might be asking yourself, who's Amanda Grosch? Well, I'll tell you. She's a major character in the tail end of the Bronze Age for Batman, because she is the social worker who's checking in on Jason Todd.
00:25:54
Speaker
after First of all, she started during the custody battle with Nocturna. That's right. Did you remember Jason Todd was the subject of a custody battle between Batman and a vampire? Because that happened.
00:26:07
Speaker
ah But now she's ah now that the adoption has gone through, she's ah checking in on him, ah just like doing surprise check-ins to see that he's doing okay.
00:26:20
Speaker
Because, you know, Bruce Wayne is a bachelor who takes baths with his butler. That's right. And she's like, don't worry, Mr. Wayne. The first visit won't take more than a few hours.
Amanda Grosch's Social Check on Jason Todd
00:26:31
Speaker
And bruce Bruce, by the way, who went to go pick Jason Todd up in his pajamas and bathrobe.
00:26:38
Speaker
Even though Alfred was like, shouldn't you get dressed? He was like, nah, man. i want to he He put on like an overcoat, and that was it. Yeah. yeah So, ah five hours later...
00:26:51
Speaker
Bruce has still not gone to sleep. And as soon as she leaves, there is a report on the news about a robbery at a convenience store. And the bat signal is in the sky.
00:27:03
Speaker
That's right. And so Batman... And you gotta think Batman's like, they don't need me for a robbery at a convenience store. Yeah, Gordon can deal with this. I fought fucking Despero.
00:27:17
Speaker
But he suits up, he goes to the Batmobile, and he drives away, and he's like, hopefully I will have a second wind. And he he goes to the convenience store.
00:27:31
Speaker
There's just like you know some standard issue hood in there, wearing a like a ah knit cap and a sweater. You know what a criminal looks like. He's wearing a knit cap and a turtleneck and ah and a jacket and gloves.
00:27:46
Speaker
Yeah, and ah a Batman bursts through a stack of breadcrumb cans, lovingly labeled breadcrumbs. Each one individually labeled breadcrumbs?
00:27:59
Speaker
Yes. I wonder if Ben Oda knew that Panko could have saved him little time. but nobody no but Nobody knew what Panko was in 1985. That's true. That's true. But ah Batman bursts through the the cans, and he says, nighty-night, he punches the guy out.
00:28:15
Speaker
ah But the bat signal has not left the the the the sky. And the Batman realizes it must be about something else. So he goes to Gordon's office, and ah Gordon says... This is what I would say is the major flaw with this story. is that so far, we've had kind of like a wacky, like kind of cute, fun time with all this. And then we get this scene.
Serious Tone: Batman Tackles Sensitive Crime
00:28:43
Speaker
Yeah, this is pretty um messed up. So Batman goes to find Gordon, or goes to Gordon's office. Gordon tells him, yeah, there's a ah rapist who has...
00:28:55
Speaker
ah hit eight women in the last six nights. Yeah, in the park. In this park. And so Batman's like, alright, I'll take care of it. So he goes to the park and turns out this is a man who has been dressing as a woman to commit these crimes in the park.
00:29:18
Speaker
yeah And Batman's just like, that person's too tall. Doug Mench on the phone with J.K. Rowling being like, how should I how should i continue this story? Yeah, I feel like so many bathroom bills happened, and this issue of Batman was used as evidence.
00:29:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's not it's not... First of all, it's weird to be having like a like kind of like slapstick comedy Batman story, and then Commissioner Gordon's like, yeah, there's a rapist out there.
00:29:47
Speaker
yeah ah And it's like, whoa! Yeah. but It is a ah major tonal shift. Yeah. But at the same time, I recognize that it's like, it's got to be something... My theory about Doug Minch's thought process here is, it's got to be something so serious that Batman can't go back to bed.
00:30:06
Speaker
Right. It's got to be something like that is a big deal, and that's what he picked. It's got to be an escalation from the from the convenience store robbery. I would have gone with a supervillain.
00:30:19
Speaker
Yeah, like, it could have been Riddler, you know? it could It could have been any of it. could Yeah, it could have been Penguin. Yeah. I do think that, like, Minch is specifically trying not to do, like, again, this is a weirdly more relatable Batman story, so it's Batman dealing with, like,
00:30:40
Speaker
more realistic stuff like contractors and stepping in paint he got a flat tire and now he's just wants to go to bed. But like, yeah, man, like the, the cross-dressing serial rapist is a wild fit in this.
00:30:57
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, so Batman like immediately like clocks that this is a guy in disguise um And as soon as he speaks, it's like a deep voice.
00:31:13
Speaker
And the guy like turns around, his wig comes off, he tries to shoot Batman. And so, ah Batman just like... This guy who looks like fucking Clint Howard. Yeah. ah Batman just like beats the shit out of him and knocks him into a lamppost.
00:31:29
Speaker
He knocks him into a lamppost and the so like glass globe on top of the lamppost falls down and hits the guy in the head. Yeah. ah And Batman says, like a bad dream, but at least the women of this city could sleep easier now.
00:31:47
Speaker
Then, ah just for fun, Batman goes and stops. It's not just for fun, max Come on Well, he hasn't been asked to do this one.
00:32:00
Speaker
No, he made a vow at his parents' graves, Matt. I'm just saying, Jesus. We were saying that there was as ah there could have been a reason why Batman could have been like, you deal with this. Right? But this one, there's like a home invader with a crowbar outside of a house, and Batman stops this guy too.
00:32:22
Speaker
ah With a batarang, and then punches this guy out too. Yeah. I want to know, where is this? Where is this in Gotham City? Where it's like a country home. just Just a house with nothing around it?
00:32:37
Speaker
Yeah. yeah um But like, Batman, you know, beats that guy. then i I kind of got the idea that, you know, Batman's like, alright,
00:32:49
Speaker
I'm out here. Might as well go on patrol. Or maybe he's heading back and keeps getting sidetracked. Not that he's just doing it for fun. Unbelievable. He stops an arsonist, too.
00:33:04
Speaker
And he's he's like, when am I ever going to get to go to sleep? And he keeps talking about how he's he's knocking all these dudes out. And he's like, damn, I'm sending all these guys to Dreamland, but I can't get there myself. That sucks. Yeah.
Batman’s Relentless Night Crime Stopping
00:33:20
Speaker
Which is, like, Bruce, you do know the difference between being knocked unconscious via head trauma and going to sleep, right? It's not ah ah quite the same thing. He stops a safecracker. He stops a guy who's stolen a bunch of jewelry. And then finally, as dawn breaks, ah he's, like, hanging out on the side of a building. He stops one more robbery ah that's happening, like, right in front of him, a mugging.
00:33:49
Speaker
He throws that guy in a trash can. ah That guy says, don't you ever sleep, Batman? And Batman goes, you and I both wish. Yeah. ah Then the guy who he saved is like, wait, where'd Batman go? And then the final panel is Batman up on like a rooftop by a gargoyle just sawing logs. Yeah.
00:34:10
Speaker
With a big old smile on his face. On a about a foot wide ledge. Yeah. Bruce, you're going to die.
00:34:20
Speaker
She better have trained to not roll over in your sleep. And that's it. That's the issue. um It is good, except for that rapist thing. Yeah, except for that part. Like...
00:34:33
Speaker
And it feels really out of place. Like, it feels both out of place in this story, but also out of place, like, in retrospect. i Like, I don't think Doug Mench is trying to say anything with that.
00:34:47
Speaker
no But, like, in retrospect, it's like, the oof. Oof, bud. It's much worse in hindsight than I'm sure it was 1985. Like,
00:34:59
Speaker
i don't know though like That may have been a talking point even back then where it's like, oh, this is just men dressed as women to assault women. Well, I mean, like, yeah it's – that is a – that is like a – you know, there's there's that whole Lindsay Ellis video about the kind of the roots of of of this idea of – dude, this corner of transphobia is like, it's psycho.
00:35:27
Speaker
It's just psycho. Yeah. These people saw psycho and thought it was real. Well, it and ah we did watch a movie for Friends Till the End quite a while ago.
00:35:41
Speaker
What is the name of that movie? It's it's a movie that ah inspired Don Mancini. Is it Sleepaway Camp? It is not Sleepaway Camp. Dressed to Kill. It's called Dressed to Kill. kill yeah um That movie is from 1980. What I'm getting at is yeah it was kind of a trope.
00:35:59
Speaker
yeah like I don't know if if Doug Minch was trying to say anything more than it's just like, oh yeah, this is just a thing that happens in in stories. But man, it could have been anything else. It could have been Riddler.
00:36:13
Speaker
like it could have been the ridr That said, i feel like that is another example of this being like such a Bronze Age story. Oh yeah, because it's 1985, and you could like I'm sure no one batted an eye, because that's just like, well, it's 1985, Alan Moore's doing Swamp Thing.
00:36:33
Speaker
but But also, like it's it's it's I feel like the Bronze Age was the time in comics where it was like...
00:36:44
Speaker
there were those kind of weird tonal shifts in superhero comics, like where it was like, Oh, now this is about something serious. Yeah. Like, like, you know, with Speedy being hooked on heroin, you know, like, ah I mean, that was 10 years before those.
00:37:01
Speaker
Yeah. But that was, that was like the start of the bronze age. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and this is that, did no, that was 71. That's even earlier than I thought. But, um,
00:37:12
Speaker
But yeah, like it it it sort of has that feel to it, I guess, um which is both you know appropriate for the time, but also like so weird to read now. like As you said, like in the midst of like kind of like a ha-ha, Batman what really wants to sleep story, now we're dealing with this man dresses as a woman to assault women.
00:37:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's... it's it's
00:37:44
Speaker
i I wish it was not in this story, because otherwise I think this story is very, very fun.
00:37:51
Speaker
All right, with that one element, detracting element in mind, where do you think we should rank this? I mean, I really like it. Like, i i it's, it is, i don't think it's a story you would see today.
00:38:08
Speaker
No. But I like like the idea of this Bruce Wayne, the kind of like, you know, Late, pre-Frank Miller, pre-Jim Starlin, Bruce Wayne, who's chugging coffee. Because he drinks a lot of coffee in this.
00:38:28
Speaker
He's like Captain Janeway. ah He's chugging coffee, trying to get through it. He's mixing stuff up and making mistakes, which you never see. like i i like all that. like I think that's really fun.
00:38:43
Speaker
Yeah, the Bruce Wayne who is afraid of Jason Todd's teacher. Yeah. He's like, I want to fucking talk to that teacher again, man. That sucked. yeah like The Bruce Wayne who doesn't who's like so fucking tired and does not want to have responsibilities again.
00:39:04
Speaker
the most relatable. Yeah. The most relatable he's ever been. Well, it's... like it Especially, it's especially true now. i'm I'm wondering if it's like a thing where it's like Doug Minch trying to kind of like talk about his own life here too. Cause like I've definitely reached a point in my life where it's like, I have all this shit to do that I don't want to do but I have to.
00:39:33
Speaker
Yeah, man. And all you got, all you want to do is fucking go to sleep. Yeah. Like that I had that in my younger adulthood and I don't even have kids. Um, But like it feels like that feeling has ramped up in my life all the more. ah you know Where it's like, God, I just want to go to bed.
00:39:54
Speaker
Also, the idea that Bruce is like, I've got to stay up because I've got to tune up the Batmobile. And then his other car gets a flat tire. Like, yeah come on, man. like yeah I also like how some of that stuff is like...
00:40:12
Speaker
Like, it just cuts to, instead of showing him get the flat tire, or like like, you know, blow the tire, it just cuts to him, like, he leaves the school, and then the next panel is just like, he's fixing the tire. He's got he's got the jack out, and the, yeah like, because it's, yeah, it's just showing you the most annoying part.
00:40:32
Speaker
Yeah, and and there's some good economy of storytelling in this. Yeah, and completely forgetting making the date with Julia and being like, yeah, yeah, Vicky, tomorrow's 7 o'clock, whatever. Like, it's weird that you see, like, it's it's Bruce Wayne having a Peter Parker day.
00:40:50
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. which is Which is pretty fun. Yeah. Like, it's it's it's pretty fun to see.
00:41:00
Speaker
um That middle bit does kind of, like, detract from the story. But I think to little rests the rest of it is, like, pretty solid stuff. Yeah.
00:41:11
Speaker
the The only difference between Bruce and Peter in this situation is like the contractor show up and he's like, I don't care what color you do, and then the the contractors start working. yeah Peter Parker would not be able to pay those contractors, and they would not contractor money. And they would not do the work.
00:41:29
Speaker
Do you think yeah Aunt May ever said, you got McDonald's money to Peter Parker?
00:41:35
Speaker
you think Peter was ever like, Aunt May, come on, let's get let's get McDonald's. And she was like, you got McDonald's money? You ever think that happened? Probably. i would guess so. I would guess so. We got wheat cakes at home.
00:41:48
Speaker
The thing is, ah Aunt May and Uncle Ben seem to be doing fine financially. but i mean, until Uncle Ben died, yeah.
00:41:58
Speaker
Yeah, not well enough to help Peter, though. Yeah, the Aunt May has had her money troubles over the years, for sure. Take the money, Peter!
00:42:10
Speaker
when she did the... I so i do do remember that. ah Oh, man. Okay. So, alright. We don't think the bad part of this, like that one bad choice, that one
00:42:29
Speaker
fault of this story drags it down into some of the other stories similar... I don't think it tanks it. Yeah. Like... I don't know.
00:42:40
Speaker
i don't think it tanks it. I think it's definitely like a thing where you know we're having a we're having we're all having a nice time, and then it happens, and it really kind of... it it grinds things to a momentary halt, for sure. I don't think it tanks the story.
00:42:58
Speaker
Yeah, and, you know... i
00:43:04
Speaker
a lot of the stuff A lot of my complaints about it, a lot of my criticism of it is like 2026 baggage. Yeah, which you know we we have said before, we don't judge stories based on being products of their time.
00:43:22
Speaker
I don't necessarily know what Doug Mench is. I don't think Doug Mench has gone the ah the Chuck Dixon route. Although, Jack Dixon was always kind of there. Yeah.
00:43:35
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I don't know anything about Doug Mitch's politics. i i I kind of don't feel like this is intended to be political.
00:43:49
Speaker
It just is impossible to read it as anything but now. I think he he picked a ah ah weird trope and...
00:44:00
Speaker
that trope hadn't gotten any less weird and has, in fact, gotten worse over time. oh But, like, it's definitely, like, it definitely knocks it down a bunch because, like, you know it's a flaw, I think. yeah i mean the If nothing else, it's a weird turn into being very serious.
00:44:27
Speaker
it is It is a a weird tonal shift, if nothing else, yes. yeah um So, my first thought is, we we ranked Lone Wolf and Cub a good bit lower than we otherwise would have. Volume 1 of Lone Wolf and Cub, because it has a rape scene.
00:44:47
Speaker
And I think this might go in the same kind of region, which is in the thirteen hundreds i was I was looking – my immediate thought was to go straight to number 1,000 and see what was there. 1,000 is still pretty all right um altogether. yeah like But i mean I think this story is is pretty good. Okay.
00:45:11
Speaker
Okay. But i get i I get why you would go to Lone Wolf and Cub. Yeah. It's the first thing I thought of. This doesn't have doesn't have a rape scene in it.
00:45:23
Speaker
It's got a rapist that Batman beats up. Which, you know, which ultimately it's a good thing. we don't We don't see anything terrible happen.
00:45:35
Speaker
But, like, also the guy dresses as a woman to avoid the... cut Like, it's... yeah Man, I don't know. Maybe it should go down in the 1300s. I mean, I think...
00:45:48
Speaker
It could go a little higher, but like I kind of think this stuff here is ah is kind of in the neighborhood of it anyway. like Keeping in mind that this is a very top-heavy list, um like the are not like bad yet you know Yeah. Lantern and Green Arrow 1307. Yeah.
00:46:08
Speaker
the not you know yeah um like green lantern green arrows at thirteen seven um I personally like this better than Green Line and Green Arrow.
00:46:19
Speaker
Yeah, two bookends of the Bronze Age. um
00:46:25
Speaker
Okay.
00:46:28
Speaker
X-23 Target X is at 1304. That's a story with some problems. That story does have some problems. Alright, I'm thinking maybe we go up into the twelve hundreds a bit.
00:46:40
Speaker
At 1250, we have a Pizza Hut X-Men. it ain't that good. Okay, great. It ain't that good. So we's it's in the upper 1200s. Now at 1265, we have Night Business, which
00:47:04
Speaker
I would say is much more problematic. Yeah, yeah.
00:47:12
Speaker
I think it's got to rank a between 1265 and 1250. Okay.
00:47:21
Speaker
Dark Knight over Metropolis is at 1258.
00:47:25
Speaker
That's better. Silent Knight of the Batman is at 1260. I mean, the also like kind of a very very similarly, a like that that is a story where Batman just hangs out. Batman's like, damn...
00:47:41
Speaker
Ain't no crime going on. Do you guys want to sing some Christmas Carols?
00:47:48
Speaker
Avengers 214 is at 1261. Man, Ghost Rider whoops the shit out of the Avengers in that one. Uh-huh.
00:47:58
Speaker
Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider, Matt. Just wants the shit out of the Avengers. Secret Mole is at 1262.
00:48:09
Speaker
i I'm thinking it goes right above What If Bob King Created Batman and below Velocopedestrian. Okay. I like that. That makes it the new number 1264.
00:48:23
Speaker
Yeah.
00:48:26
Speaker
I'm going to put on the list Batman 383, and then I'll put in parentheses –
00:48:33
Speaker
I kind of hate the actual story title, Just as Night Follows Day. I'm just going to put in parentheses, A Night in the Life of Batman. ah Great work from Gene Colan in most of this. There's couple panels where, like, i mean, there's that weird house that is just has one tree and no other background.
00:48:53
Speaker
it feels That feels like one of the more ah Tomb of Dracula moments in the issue. um But, i yeah, I think largely... The art is really well done and and presents Batman in this humanized way that the story is really trying to get across.
00:49:13
Speaker
Like the way that Colin... Like there's a few shots of Batman where he's being pretty Batman-y, you know? like Like hovering over criminals and stuff. But there are other shots of Batman where he seems very like... Just a dude.
00:49:31
Speaker
You know... Batman used to do that move where he would swing on a rope and just two foot like straight legs, body L-shaped. Yeah. Kick a dude in the face. That used to be the move for Batman. He doesn't do that anymore.
00:49:48
Speaker
I feel like maybe people think that's too Spider-Man-like. I don't know Spider-Man ever stiff-legged anybody like that.
00:50:00
Speaker
Well, the swinging part is is is pretty Spider-Man-like. but
00:50:07
Speaker
I don't know. This is a very Spider-Man-coded Batman issue. It really is. It really is.
Future Plans: Mask Miniseries and Frank Miller's Ronan
00:50:14
Speaker
All right, that's going to do it for our April Comics catch-up. We needed to do a single issue this month because...
00:50:22
Speaker
um It's a busy month, and so we just needed to get something knocked out. We have decided that in May, we're going to do maybe the first two Mask miniseries.
00:50:35
Speaker
That's right. It's going to be Masek.
00:50:40
Speaker
Pretty good, right? Yeah. And then in June, I think we're finally going to read Ronan. But Ronan is going to be a lot. What's what's that? Frank Miller's Ronan.
00:50:51
Speaker
What?
00:50:55
Speaker
Did you not remember that we were going to do that? No, I just don't i don't i don't know that word. What's that mean? Oh, it means Master of the Samurai. Oh, okay. Thank you. Yeah. I think we're going to do Ronan in June with a little bit of lead time.
00:51:10
Speaker
so that we can read it all and talk about it. um Because because it is it is a good chunk of stuff. Good chunk of book ah to read. But a listener, Julia, who is also in my D&D group, did bring me a physical copy of Ronan to read.
00:51:30
Speaker
Okay, so we gotta do it. Yeah. So we gotta do it. And that'll be in June. We will complete the six...
00:51:42
Speaker
super-sized issues of Ronin for the June catch-up. In the meantime, if you would like to email us, you can do it at our email address, which is warrocketpodcast at gmail.com. We're also on bluesky, warrocketajax.com. We're on Tumblr, warrocketpodcast.tumblr.com.
00:52:01
Speaker
We're on Patreon. You can help make these ah catch-ups possible on Patreon. Patreon.com slash WarRocketAjax. You can donate as little as a dollar a month to help support this show and get cool rewards.
00:52:19
Speaker
We're also on Discord. If you ask us nicely for an invitation to our Discord, you will get one. We will give you one, and you can be part of that community of WarRocketAjax listeners, which you should do.
00:52:33
Speaker
If you want to find me and my stuff, go to mattdwilson.net. It has links to my comics, my books, my other podcasts, and my social medias. Chris, where can people find you? Everybody can find me by going to the-isb.com.
00:52:45
Speaker
Just so you know, our website is warrocketajax.com. It has every episode of the show that we've done. And warrocketwiki.com is the wiki for the show that has all kinds of stuff on it. We'll be back in May, as I said, with Masek.
00:52:59
Speaker
We're going to read some Mask comics.
00:53:03
Speaker
Until then. Smoke them. Somebody stop me. Until then, bye everybody. Yeah, until then, good catching up.