Comic: Batman/Legends of the Dark Knight #80-82 Title: "Idols"
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Note: Covers reprinted without permission.
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Points of Interest from the Story (WARNING SPOILERS):
From LoDK #80 |
How DO superheroes deal with
merchandisers that try to cash in on their good name? Superboy had an agent who
tried it; later, the name "Superman" and all legal rights were given to Superman
for a song (shortly after the Death/Rebirth of Superman story). Spider-man made use
of it when he had to make do with a commercial costume (one instance where his fame helped
him, to say nothing of the photos of himself he sells to the Daily Bugle). But Batman is a multi-millionaire. And you don't intimidate legal shop owners like you do true criminals. Interesting question? Also the point of the story arc title, I think. Funny thing is, it wasn't really what drove this story. There were 3 main subplots in this 3-issue story arc:
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The cult aspect only served to distract
the reader (and Batman). The real serial killer and Batkiller provided the main
action and antithesis to Batman. I liked the fact that the story had good
characterization of the supporting roles and that you had a lot of "suspects" to
choose from, like any good detective story. What also helped make this story interesting is that it's set during a time when Batman's relationship with the police was less formalized. This story takes place just after Year One, and even makes use of the idea that Gordon needed to use a cloth bat symbol to signal Batman (from "Prey", a prior LoDK mini-series). Braithwaite's art is somewhat reminiscent of Bart Sears, with strong chiseled lines across characters' faces. His Batman is sinewy, not bulky, and this costume seems to wrap around him without being too tight or too bulky.
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From LoDK #82 |
The story's conclusion is fairly satisfying. The Batkiller's identity is never truly revealed, which I didn't mind because it meant that he/she WASN'T who I was led to believe (the Fed Agent, a tough-lady cop who's been bossing Gordon around). I got a little lost trying to follow the pace of the final issue -- seemed like they did great in setup on the first two issues then realized they only had one issue to go and had to tie up a lot of loose ends.
The Good: A true detective story, with a good twist; the "chiseled" artwork and post-Year One setting
The Bad: Rough closure. I wanted the Batkiller to be revealed as someone more meaningful to the story, and it just didn't happen.
Overall Rating: 3 chees. If you like Batman, you should like this...
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