Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo

Reprints Brave And The Bold #98, 100-102, 104-122
Written by Bob Haney.
Penciled by Jim Aparo and Neal Adams.
Inked by Jim Aparo and Dick Giordano.
 
Summary:
Over 500 pages of Bat-Tacular Brave, Bold Bronze Age tales, including:

Roger Birnam, a close friend of Batman has died. The caped crusader feels that he should look in on the man's widow Clarinda and son Enoch. But Batman will be shocked to learn that there is more to Enoch than meets the eye.  

There seems to be something supernatural going on at the Birnam mansion. Thankfully, the paranormal  investigator Phantom Stranger arrives to help Batman solve the mystery of Enoch Birnam.

Sometime after that, Batman is shot by a sniper and is on the brink of death, confined to a wheelchair. The bullet is lodged near his heart and the only surgeon who can save him is based in Zurich, Switzerland and won't arrive for another three days.

He might be the World's Greatest Detective, but how can he solve his own attempted murder while recovering from a gunshot wound? His former partner, Robin, steps in to help find he sniper. Batman also summons his fellow superheroes Green Arrow, Black Canary and Green Lantern to help Robin.  Batman will direct them on the telephone, providing the detective work, while they follow his orders and try to nab the shooter! 

But even if the heroes crack the case, can Batman hold on long enough for the surgeon to arrive?

Batman apprehends a criminal named Fast Frankie in Barclayville, a poor neighborhood in Gotham City.  A group of community activists known as the Young Aquarians tells Batman that they plan to use vigilante justice on Frankie. Batman says he will turn Frankie over to the police. The Young Aquarians act as the de facto police in Barclayville, because the law enforcement officials don't seem to care about the neighborhood.   

At City Hall, Gotham's City Council announces plans to tear down buildings in Barclayville as part of an Urban Renewal project. Batman tries to talk them out of it, but the mayor says it's too late. 

When the bulldozers arrive in Barclayville, the Young Aquarians lay down in front of them. The activists get some surprise help in the form of the Teen Titans! The debate is joined by Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Gotham's mayor.  

The city leaders tell the kids they have 30 days to beautify their neighborhood and save it from the wrecking ball. Batman and the Teen Titans offer to assist the Young Aquarians' clean-up project. Can Barclayville be saved?

Batman discovers a secret facility that provides plastic surgery for dangerous, wanted criminals who want to change their appearance. When Batman's attempt to go undercover doesn't work out, he seeks out the Deadman, who can take possession of any living person.

Deadman possesses a criminal named Richie Wandrus. He makes progress in breaking up the plastic surgery ring, but Deadman jeopardizes the investigation when he falls in love with Wandrus' girlfriend Lily Lang. Can Batman get Deadman to focus and prevent the plastic surgeons from giving criminals the ultimate disguise?  

Bruce Wayne is having dinner at a restaurant in the Las Pampas district of Spanish Gotham. When a shootout occurs, Batman finds himself caught in the middle of a political firefight between rival factions from the nation of San Sebastian. Thankfully, his friend Diana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, is available to assist him when the San Sebastitianos try to fight their civil war in the streets of Spanish Gotham.

Batman and Commissioner Gordon find a family murdered. Each member of the family is holding a Joker playing card, which indicates it's the work of Batman's arch foe the Joker. Batman says that the Joker has gone too far and that he will hunt down and destroy the clown prince of crime. The Caped Crusader says the police better catch the Joker first, if they want him alive.  

But after a little digging, Batman's deduces that the Joker may have been framed for the murders. Believing that Joker is for once, not guilty, Batman offers his enemy a truce so that they can identify the real killer. But can Batman trust the Joker to hold up his end of the truce?

At Gotham City International Airport, Batman commands a special police detail that awaits a plane carrying a mob boss named Joe Angel. However, plans change in a hurry when Angel's plane crashes into the ocean.

Batman contacts his Justice League teammate Aquaman, knowing that the king of the sea is his best hope to recover the plane. However, Batman is shocked to learn that Aquaman himself is responsible for downing the plane! Has Aquaman turned evil? Or did he have a good reason to take down the jetliner?

Aquaman sends an Orca to save Batman!

When a teenage girl named Debbie Manton is kidnapped, Batman searches desperately for her all around Gotham City. During his quest, he receives a high voltage electrical shock. He is dumped by criminals at the police station, where the Batman is pronounced dead!

Commissioner Gordon refuses to give up hope and remembers that Batman's old friend, Dr. Roy Palmer, a physicist, just happens to be in Gotham. Palmer is also the superhero known as the Atom. He shrinks down to microscopic size and goes inside Batman's brain to stimulate blood flow.

Can Atom save Batman? Will the heroes locate Debbie Manton in time to save her?

Finally, B.B. Riggs brings his sideshow to Gotham City. Batman is shocked to see his old ally Swamp-Thing chained up on display in the sideshow. Batman confronts Riggs and says it's inhuman to abuse Swamp-Thing in this manner.

Shortly after, a poisonous substance in the local water supply causes giant vines to start sprouting up out all over the city. This creates a flood that destroys property and brings chaos to a highly populated area. The citizens of Gotham decide that it must somehow be the fault of Swamp-Thing and decide to kill him.

Batman knows that without Swamp-Thing's help, Gotam City is doomed. Can Batman save Swamp-Thing? Even if he does, can they stop the giant vines from destroying the city?

Review:
Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo is a good book, but it's mostly lighter fare and done-in-one stories. However, Jim Aparo's art is the main attraction and it still looks great four decades after these stories were originally published.

Story:
As some readers recall, "Zany" Bob Haney wrote stories in Brave And The Bold that seemed to exist in their own unique pocket universe. Haney often had little regard for continuity and didn't seem to care that Batman and others acted somewhat out of character in his stories. That's why these stories show the Batman visiting the Birnam Mansion in costume and taking a stroll through Gotham City in broad daylight, enjoying the Springtime weather!

Mixed in with the tales of common criminals are stories about witch covens and Batman selling his soul to the devil! Plus two team-ups with Sgt. Rock. While these are a bit more interesting, the Batman seems a bit out of place in such stories.

The main problem I had with these isn't their "Haney-ness." It's that most of the stories feature Batman and the guest heroes teaming up to fight generic gangsters, drug dealers and street hoodlums. Maybe these were more enjoyable when they were bought off the racks 40 years ago. But reading one story after another featuring Batman vs. generic criminals without superpowers gets old fast.

The only DC super-villains that appear in Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo are the Joker and Two-Face, and Joker shows up in two different stories. Not surprisingly, the Joker stories are the best in the book. Haney writes a very entertaining, crazy, cunning Joker.

Haney also doesn't seem to have a lot of use for DC's superheroines. For instance, Black Canary seems more concerned about drying her hair than saving Batman's life. Wonder Woman doesn't get to do much in her guest appearance. I should mention that this story was published during a period when Wonder Woman had lost her superpowers and was fighting criminals using martial arts.    

The stories aren't all silly. In fact, some of them even resemble the "grim and gritty" Batman tales that have become the norm since the 1980s. There are quite a few murders and accidental deaths in these stories. Batman himself takes a bullet to the heart in one story, which puts him at death's door.  

While the Young Aquarians/Barclayville story was slight, it was interesting to see Batman and the Teen Titans interact with the "counter culture" kids of the early 70s. And it made sense that the Teen Titans, being younger than the Caped Crusader, joined the Aquarians' civil disobedience against the demolition of Barclayville. It's not the best story ever, but at least Haney was trying to write something relevant, even if some of the slang used by the Aquarians is a bit dated (it was probably even dated when the story was first published). In any event, it's better than another "Batman and guest hero vs. gangsters" tale.

Art:
In this blogger's opinion, Jim Aparo was the definitive Batman artist of the Bronze Age. Some will say it's Neal Adams or Marshall Rogers. I give the nod to Aparo because he drew quite a few more Batman stories than anyone else during that time. Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo gives us 500+ pages of Aparo's pencils and every page looks excellent.

Since Brave And The Bold was a team-up title, we get to see Aparo draw tons of DC characters. I particularly enjoyed his depiction of the Demon, seen below.

Another high point is Atom's trip through Batman's internal organs.

Great stuff from Aparo.

I also love the way Aparo drew the Joker in these stories. The super-thin chin is a great touch.

Aparo serves as penciler and inker for all but eight pages in the book. Neal Adams, inked by Dick Giordano, penciled the 2nd half of the Barclayville story. They use a similar style to Aparo, so the change of artists shouldn't distract readers or ruin the story.

How Does It Look?:
Here's a page scanned from Brave And The Bold #100, borrowed from one of my favorite blogs, Diversions Of The Groovy Kind:

Here's a scan of the reprinted version found in this hardcover reprint:

The stories featured in Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo aren't classic and some of them haven't aged well. But every fan of Aparo's fantastic art will enjoy this book.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sals.

Superman: Phantom Zone

Reprints Superman:Phantom Zone #1-4
Written by Steve Gerber.
Penciled by Gene Colan.
Inked by Tony DeZuniga.

Summary:  
Daily Planet employee Charlie Kweskill has been haunted by nightmares which are inducing insomnia.

 

He has a recurring dream about the planet Krypton. Charlie witnesses several Kryptonians commit horrendous crimes. The perpatrators are punished with banishment to the Phantom Zone.

When he passes out at work, his boss, Planet publisher Perry White, tells him to go home and get some rest.

In reality, Charlie is really Quex-Ul of Krypton. He was wrongly imprisoned in the Phantom Zone himself. Years ago, Superman freed him and used Gold Kryptonite to wipe away his memory and create his new identity as Charlie Kweskill.  

We learn that Charlie's dreams are caused by telepathic manipulation by prisoners of the Phantom Zone. They are led by General Zod. The Kryptonian criminals force Charlie to steal equipment from STAR Labs which he uses to build a Phantom Zone projector that will allow Kryptonian criminals to escape to Earth. 

Back at the Planet, reporter Clark Kent learns that Charlie never returned to work and has disappeared. He decides to investigate this as Superman, starting at Charlie's apartment. Superman arrives just as Charlie is releasing the inmates from the Phantom Zone.
When the villains escape, Superman and Charlie Kweskill are sent to the Phantom Zone! 

When the villains escape, Superman and Charlie Kweskill are sent to the Phantom Zone! 
That means that several criminals with powers similar to Superman's are free to wreck havoc upon Earth.

Zod flies away, accompanied by Kru-El, Faora, Va-Kox and Jax-Ur. Their first stop is the Justice League's satellite headquarters. The Kryptonians send the satellite deep into the Milky Way. The Phantom Zoners also attack communication satellites owned by the United States and Soviet Union. This causes the World's great powers to launch nuclear missiles at one another.

With Superman missing, his cousin Supergirl leaps into action.  
She teams with Wonder Woman and they prevent the missiles from inflicting damage, thus avoiding World War III.

Several other Kryptonian escapees separate from Zod's crew and explore Earth on their own:

Jer-Em, a fanatical religious prophet preaches that armageddon is coming. His activities attract the attention of Batman.

Az-Rel is a pyrotic whose thoughts can set matter aflame. He's accompanied by Nadira, a telekinetic whose thoughts disrupt the bioelectrical impulses of the brain. They wander around Metropolis, inflicting pain on people.  

Nam-Ek is a madman who experimented on rondors (native Kryptonian animals) which resulted in him being half-man, half-rondor. Wonder Woman encounters Nam-Ek and tries to be kind to him. He is so surprised by this gesture that he doesn't believe her and attacks the Amazon Princess!

Supergirl travels to Gotham City, hoping Batman can help her find Superman, but the Dark Knight has no idea where Superman is. She then departs for her cousin's Fortress Of Solitude, not knowing it's been taken over by the Phantom Zone villains. Upon arrival, Supergirl is overpowered by Zod and the others. They leave the scene, trashing the Fortress, presuming Supergirl is dead.

Green Lantern is also defeated by Zod's gang. The criminals use GL's lantern to charge a gigantic cannon that will send Earth to the Phantom Zone!

Back in the Phantom Zone, Superman and Charlie are trying to find an escape route. In order to do so, they must go further in to the Zone. As their journey progresses, they encounter many bizarre and frightening characters. When it looks like they've found a way out of the Zone, Kal-El and Charlie learn they will have to go through the monstrous Aethyr, the Oversoul in order to escape!

Can Superman and Charlie escape from the Phantom Zone and save Earth from destruction?

Review:
The late, great Steve Gerber was synonymous with "offbeat" Bronze Age stories. Superman: Phantom Zone shows that Gerber could make even the Man Of Steel offbeat.
  
Story:
This limited series was published shortly after the release of the movie Superman II, so the Phantom Zone was sort of "hot" at the time. Gerber gives us a Phantom Zone that's a supernatural, phantasmagorical nightmare world.

Superman: Phantom Zone also does a good job demonstrating exactly how dangerous a pack of criminals with the powers of Superman would be.

I'm not an expert on Silver Age DC Comics stories. But I think this is the first time we got to see visual depictions of some of the crimes committed by Zod and the other prisoners of the Phantom Zone. Through Charlie's "nightmares," we see that Zod and the others are very dangerous mass murderers.  

The portrayal of General Zod in Superman: Phantom Zone is very different from the character played by Terrence Stamp. But he's a great villain who is willing to destroy Earth just to cause grief for Superman.  

But it's not all doom, gloom, and horror. Gerber gives us a funny scene where the Phantom Zone criminals visit a Metropolis punk rock club. 

Gerber also gives us a classic "everyman" character in Charlie Kweskill. Charlie is a typical working stiff who suddenly has the fate of the world in his hands. He also serves as a surrogate for the reader. 

I also appreciated the way Gerber let us, the readers, experience the world through the eyes of Nadira and Az-Rel.

Though Superman and Charlie are the main characters, Gerber also does a good job writing the other superheroes. Wonder Woman and Supergirl prevent a world war when they intercept the missiles, and Batman has some interesting scenes with Jer-Em. 

Speaking of Batman, there's a scene where Supergirl tells Batman that his "best friend" Superman has disappeared. It made me a bit sad, since the Man Of Steel and the Caped Crusader are no longer best friends in the post-Crisis DC Universe.  

No Gerber story would be complete without quirky, unusual characters. They don't get much more "Gerber-esque" than the Priestesses of the Crimson Sun, who have heads that do interesting things, as you'll in the images below:

If there's anything to criticize in the story, it's that the ending is somewhat abrupt. There's also no follow-up about the U.S. and Soviets launching missiles at each other. It would've been nice to get a caption or a sentence of dialogue that mentioned how the nations dealt with this "misunderstanding."

Art:
Gene Colan is probably NOT an artist most comic fans associate with Superman, but he provides excellent pencils in this tpb. He penciled this about two years after the conclusion of his seven-year run on Tomb Of Dracula, so it's not surprising that he brings a touch of the horror genre to this tale. Colan gives us lots of great, shadowy, noirish images. Gerber previously teamed with Colan on Howard The Duck, it's interesting to see them collaborate on something completely different from Howard's adventures.

Colan is embellished by Tony De Zuniga, who also penciled and inked horror comics and magazines. They team up to create some great moody art that works great in the context of the Phantom Zone. Colan and De Zuniga make the Phantom Zone look like a truly spooky and frightening place. 

Here's a nice scan from Superman: Phantom Zone that shows off the fine work of Colan and De Zuniga:

 Great stuff!

How Does It Look:
Here's a scan from my copy of Superman:Phantom Zone #4, published back in 1982:

And this is how the same pages look in the tpb:

Extras:
This book contains Gerber's follow-up to this story, published after the Bronze Age. 

Superman: Phantom Zone features a Superman story unlike any other.  Fans of Steve Gerber and Colan should definitely seek out this tpb.