All good things must come to an end. It’s a great shame that – during a decade where Batman starred weekly in four of his own titles (Batman, Detective Comics, Legends of the Dark Knight, and The Shadow of the Bat) – the Batman run of Doug Moench and Kelley Jones really isn’t that long. From Knightfall commencing in 1993 and No Man’s Land concluding in 2000, it was an era of large stories crossing over with other titles, all focusing on one plot or premise. Perhaps this – along with its gothic style and darkness – is why Moench and Jones’s era is so fondly remembered. To many, this is the definitive Dark Knight of the nineties – dark, gritty, gothic, a detective. With 1998, the run came to an end before Gotham was hit by an earthquake, a cataclysmic event that was to dominate the Bat-title for two years. But that is another story – it’s head back once again into the world of Doug Moench and Kelley Jones…
Batman 544-552 was published from July 1997 to March 1998. Written by Doug Moench with art by Kelley Jones, John Beatty, J.H. Williams III, and Mick Gray.
Batman 544-546 --- Major Arcana
No Batman run is complete without a story featuring Batman’s most famous and callous villain. The Clown of Prince of Crime had not appeared in either of the two mainstream Batman titles since he fought and badly lost against Azrael’s Batman in 1994. So, for his grand comeback, Moench gives him something of a makeover.
Batman 544 begins with echoes of the villain from Batman/Dark Joker: The Wild. Hiding out in a disused comedy club, the Joker is painted pentagrams and demonic symbols in an attempt to summon the Devil himself. Right from the off, Moench writes the Joker as a highly amusing figure who, most of the time, speaks such utter drivel. He appears to have such fun in insanity, that right from page one he is a highlight. While Batman is obviously on the lookout for him, the Joker has been studying old tomes and summoning books linked to Satan. While the Joker is a devilish form of evil, would he really be a believer in the Devil and such apocryphal detail? Would he even really care? Surely, he’d focus more on what nastiness he can cause to Batman and the people of Gotham. It feels just a step out of the expected for the Joker to be tinkering with satanic worshiping. Regardless, the Joker casts a spell and seemingly summons the mythical Etrigan the Demon to Earth. The Joker and the Demon are a strange but delightful combination. The eccentric Kirby creation meshes well with the villainous Joker. Moench does well to introduce readers to the Demon, virtually with the same origin that Jack Kirby penned back in the 1970s. But suddenly, as you’d expect, the Demon stamps his authority as the Joker realises, he has nothing to bargain with. Instead, the Joker and the Demon strike a deal – the Joker will help the Demon locate the Philosophers Stone after Etrigan kills Batman. With the Philosophers Stone, Etrigan can finally destroy his human side in Jason Blood. Why the Demon agrees to this is hard to decipher. How can the Joker help him? He has no powers or anything of the kind. Perhaps both sides are desperate and wanting, but either way with this alliance, Batman 544 ends promising much.
Batman 545 takes the momentum of the previous issue and screeches it to a halt. While we’re treated to some great scenes with the Joker and Etrigan and their kooky working relationship, the story moves no further. Instead, Moench focuses on Bruce Wayne and his growing fondness for Vesper Fairchild. It’s a good background plot, especially since we are witnessing some rare character development in the usual stagnant Bruce Wayne, but it means that we get little plot in this issue. By the end, Batman confronts the Joker and is shocked to learn of the Demon’s apparent betrayal.
Batman 546 takes us back on track – Batman tries to convince Etrigan that the Joker will not help him at all, but the two villains escape. From here, Batman delves into the history of alchemy. Moench probably – as ever – digs too deep into such information for it to remain interesting, but the point is that the Demon was not summoned by mystical spells. When the Dark Knight tracks the Joker and Etrigan down, it’s thankfully revealed that the Demon appeared to the Joker out of curiosity than the success of a spell. Once again, the Demon’s obsession with destroying Jason Blood comes out in full force here, believing that only through alchemy and chemistry can his human side be obliterated. In short, the Demon realises the Joker is talking rubbish. However, the Dark Knight somehow (unbelievably so) convinces Etrigan to spare the Joker. Although he does so, brilliantly the Clown Prince of Crime immediately turns on the Dark Knight when all is safe. This beautifully sums up the Joker, and his faithfulness only to himself. Sadly, Moench doesn’t spend much time focusing on Batman’s relationship with the Joker, and there was plenty of time for it. Although Moench provides three issues, with the plot given it really should only have been two. The second issue is a near wasteland of plotting, while a full and interesting first part leads to a slightly underwhelming conclusion in the final issue. Overall, though, I do think Moench writes an excellent Etrigan and a jestingly sinful Joker. Despite its plot-holes and drawbacks, it still manages to be enjoyable.
Batman 547 --- Dark Genesis
For 1997, Genesis was one of DC’s major events. It isn’t remembered much today, and that may be because writer John Byrne delves deep into the New Gods, the Source, and the like. In short, a Godwave is unleashed in the universe which creates gods, demigods, and new metahumans. But a side effect of the wave makes everyone really depressed. Ignoring how naff the concept it, Batman 547 is forced to tie-in to this event, but Doug Moench doesn’t do a bad job of it. There is no supervillain, nor does Moench involve Batman deep into the Genesis plotting (thank goodness). Instead, it focuses on Batman rescuing a depressed woman from killing herself, and Harvey Bullock convincing a man out of murder. These heroic acts happen everyday in the real world, and Genesis provides a good backdrop to a one-off issue that works simply because it’s a one-off. It’s good to see Moench focus on Harvey Bullock and slowly softening attitude as a cop. Overall, it’s probably the most forgettable issue in the entire run, but that’s more the fault of Genesis than Doug Moench.
Batman 548-549 --- The Penguin Returns
The 1990s were a time when villains were either insane serial killers or mobsters. There seemed to be little room for costumed foes with strange quirks. When DC created the Penguin in 1941, he was a mob boss, but an eccentric one who broke into banks using robotic penguins and trick umbrellas. But during the bronze and dark ages, the Penguin became a dull mob boss on the same level as Boss Thorne. As leader of the underworld with his Iceberg Lounge and brute strength, the Penguin seemed to fall out of the major league. But with Batman 548, he returns in full force! Annoyed at his men’s failure to steal from a currency exchange store, Oswald Cobblepot decides to just do the job himself.
Moench writes the Penguin to be as cruel as ever, with only brief flashbacks to a terrible childhood conveyed in the early pages. To prove just how cunning and smart a villain he still is, the Penguin breaks into a jewellery store, leaving behind only an egg which soon brings a baby penguin into life. What’s great about the Penguin’s comeback isn’t just the return of the gimmicks, but his sense of power that comes with that. Throughout, both Batman and the police know clearly that the Penguin is behind these crimes, but due to the corruption of Gotham and his own kingdom of the underworld, Oswald Cobblepot cannot be defeated with these. Also, Moench is aided by Jones who gives the villain a stubby yet dominating image. Cunning as ever, the Penguin commits a robbery from the False Face Society. High on his new power, his attention turns on the Dark Knight.
Batman 549 is bookended by the Penguin’s antics, but in the middle falls Bruce Wayne and Vesper Fairchild. Clearly coming to a head, Vesper announces her love for Bruce, and it’s up to him to make the next move. As with the Silver St. Cloud thread in the Englehart/Rogers era, what lies ahead is uncertain. Although readers are near-certain that Bruce will give into his emotions, where does this leave Batman? We’ve already seen him retire (albeit forcefully) once before but could Vesper Fairchild lead to the dominance of Bruce Wayne over the Dark Knight. Moench’s promise of future stories is put on hold for, as Batman confronts the Penguin. Although Batman cannot get enough clear evidence to put the Penguin behind bars for a day, let alone permanently, Cobblepot goes back into retirement, controlling Gotham from the Iceberg Lounge. Although the Penguin’s glorious return was short-lived, it was enjoyable. Overall, the first part is better constructed and paced, while the second part feels somewhat empty. That said, it’s great to see a villain brought back to their former glory.
Batman 550 --- Chasing Clay
For Batman 550, Moench was given a double-size issue, and it’s an important one for two reasons. Firstly, we get something of a new villain. And secondly, this issue launches a brand-new title!
When you hear people say that their favourite Batman foe is Clayface, many seasoned fans would ask “which one?” DC have created a number of Clayfaces over the years, some very similar, some very different. For Batman 550, Moench presents us with Cassius Clay, the fifth Clayface. This one is the son of Preston Payne (Clayface III) and Sondra Fuller (Lady Clay, or Clayface IV). Moench does very well in clearing up the predictable confusions of having so many Clayfaces – Basil Karlo (Clayface I) and Matt Hagen (Clayface II) are very similar, but Clayface III is a suffering creature who burns all he touches. With Clayface V, Cassius, a mysterious group called the Department of Extranormal Operations have taken a skin sample from him for testing. This sample of clay takes a life of its own and escapes into Gotham – named Clay-Thing, let’s call him Clayface VI to increase the confusion. Thankfully, Clayface VI is the only one the story focuses on really. Oh, and Clayface III towards the end. That may be because the two Clayfaces are very similar, in the sense that they burn through flesh and horribly kill their victims. Moench writes Clayface just how Steve Englehart did in 1978 – it’s a creature of horror rather than disguise.
Just as Batman is on the hunt for Clayface VI, we’re introduced to Cameron Chase. A special agent working for the Department of Extranormal Operations, Chase is assigned to the Clayface case and has many run-ins with Batman during the issue. Their relationship begins very frosty, and never becomes warm and close. While Chase has the excitement of a new agent on her first case, and Moench tries desperately hard to create a world for her with a sympathetic cast of characters, I can’t see an ongoing title with her as the star. She’s just too generic and forgettable a character – it’s no surprise that her title lasted less than a year sadly.
Clayface VI attempts to break into Arkham to release Clayface III, technically his father as it’s a part of Clayface V. Batman and Chase arrive to defeat Clayface VI. It isn’t much of a fight, since Moench throws Amygdala randomly into the mix. Regardless, with Clayface VI defeated, Chase decides she is taking it back to the Department. Surprisingly, Batman quietly agrees and forgets about it. This is a total contrast to his attitude towards Man-Bat at the end of Batman 538, where he shuns the scientists for wanting to experiment on Kirk Langstrom. Surely, Batman would see both Clayface V and VI as child victims of their mother and father? Nonetheless, Batman 550 is a solid story that benefits from more pages. Agent Chase is a standard subsidiary character, but little more really.
Batman 551-552 --- Suit of Evil Souls/The Greatest Evil
So, for the final story of Doug Moench and Kelley Jones’s unforgettable run on Batman, who should star in the final tale? Some may have expected the Joker, or a character who hasn’t appeared yet, like Catwoman say. However, Moench gives us a pleasant surprise. Created in 1976 by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Ragman is one of the most unique in DC’s supernatural gallery. Rory Regan, the owner of a shop called Rags’n’Tatters, is a Jewish man whose family history goes back generations. And with that history comes a tradition. Passed down from father-to-son are the powers of Ragman, a supernatural entity dressed in rags, using them to kill those villains and Nazis who wish death to Jewish people around the world. As a concept, Ragman is wonderful – similar to the Spectre but more focused and in some ways more mysterious. Rory Regan comes to Gotham in Batman 551 after a childhood friend is killed by the Aryan Reich, a group of antisemitic thugs from Blackgate Prison. Regan befriends Benjamin Mizrahi, a local Rabbi who soon learns of Regan’s power and traditions. At a glance, readers may wonder how Batman can have an important role in such a story. However, during the first part, Regan begins to lose control of his powers, enraged by the Aryan Reich. The rags of Ragman absorb the powers of evil, giving incentive to Regan to murder these criminals. This is where Batman – firmly against murder – has to step in.
Batman 552 focuses on how Rory Regan can control the powers of Ragman. Killing several neo-Nazis in Gotham, this is where Rabbi Mizrahi returns. He guides Rory Regan closer to God, and how creating a balance between practising the goodness of God and understanding the evil of others is the way to control Ragman. Rabbi Mizrahi helps Ragman do this, but at a price – an Aryan Reich member kills Ragman’s mentor in a tragic and powerful scene. In the end, Ragman regains control of his rags and develops brilliantly as a character. I suppose Batman has a role to play in this, but it’s quiet a minor one really. Ragman is deservedly the star of the two-parter, as is his mentor. But to conclude the run, Bruce Wayne finally gives into his feelings. He calls Vesper Fairchild and admits his love for her. Such a sweet scene – a shame about the devasting earthquake that follows. Literally! Regardless, while Batman has only a tiny role to play in the final story of the run, Moench conveys this tale with such emotion and power – and with a fantastic cast – that it must stand tall as a flawless story and easily one of the best in the run.
For these final issues, Moench’s selection of foes and characters suits Kelley Jones fantastically. Jones created an especially gruesome Joker in The Wild and Batman: Crimson Mist, and elements of that grim world are echoed here. The Demon – like Swamp Thing and Deadman from earlier stories – heavily suits the Jones treatment, as does Ragman. The Penguin and Clayface are given the Jones makeover too, and they fit right in with this renewed and modernised Golden Age which Jones clearly wants to emulate and create. My only substantive criticism comes from Batman 550. While J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray are very good artists, their style is very different from that of Jones and Beatty. There is a lack of consistency between the two styles of art. It’s hardly the fault of the artists, but that lack of consistency is highly noticeable and alarming. Aside from that, never before or since has the Batman title had such a gothic appearance.
VERDICT
Overall, this final set of stories from the Doug Moench and Kelley Jones run is simply brilliant. While the Joker’s three-parter may have its faults and pacing issues, and the Genesis issue is nothing grand to write home about, the Penguin’s return is fantastic. Meanwhile, the story of a new Clayface is conveyed with such mystery and speed, and the Ragman tale is a perfect two-parter to end the run on. This ends a period of ‘normality’ for Batman, for the following two years were to be dominated by the shocking earthquake and its dreary after-effects…
When I started reviewing this run, I mentioned how this was the closest Batman ever came to being a horror title. I stand by that fully, but there’s so much more to it than that. Between the monoliths of Knightfall and No Man’s Land, three years of standard one-issue-after-another could have been conventional. Writers could have peddled out standard and forgettable tales. Not only does Doug Moench provide some of the most memorable tales ever published in Batman’s 84-year-history, but he changed the mood dramatically.
To many creators and fans alike, three great periods of Bat-history are those early Detective Comics stories before Robin debuted, the tales of O’Neil and Adams, and lastly the late-1970s run of Englehart and Rogers. What unites these runs? There are elements of horror, and the mood is noticeably darker. When O’Neil, Adams, Englehart, and Rogers set out to create their brilliant stints on the titles, they looked backwards and forward at the same time. They adored the gothic and outdated Gotham City of 1939, where the villains were genuinely evil but far from bland. But they understood that comic books had changed. The 1970s was an era of dramatic storytelling where elements like lighting were taken advantage of greatly. Those creators from the bronze age understood Batman was at its best when the titles retained the elements that Bill Finger created for it in 1939, but then adapted them to modern methods. This is exactly what Doug Moench and Kelley Jones did from 1995 to 1998 so perfectly. This is the golden age anew – just look at Jones’s Gotham City, with its aesthetics of the 1930s, gangsters and all. And just marvel at the darkness, not dim but deep, all-consuming. The darkness is inseparable from Gotham City. And as Neal Adams did, Kelley Jones added new drama to this city with exceptionally revamped foes. Take Mr Freeze, Two-Face, Man-Bat, the Joker, or Clay-Face. Jones has reworked these characters to fit into this gothic setting, thanks hugely to Doug Moench’s adaptability and skill as a writer. The same applies to guest characters, or creations who had rarely – if ever in some cases – appeared in a Batman comic at all. New villains like the Sleeper, the Ogre, and the Undertaker fit right at home in this world, as do the likes of Swamp Thing, Deadman, the Spectre, the Demon, and Ragman, who aren’t forcefully placed into the stories, but woven in with such care and purpose.
The image of Gotham City that Doug Moench creates, and that Kelley Jones transforms to live, helped invaluably by John Beatty’s deep inks, is impossible to overstate in quality. It’s largely because of these reasons that Doug Moench’s often-predictable plotting and standard structuring are no problems, let alone an offensive. Many of the stories here follow a format – a villain emerges, they kill somebody, they have the upper-hand for the first part, but then Batman takes them to Arkham in the second. Although that format works, but it seldom amazes. But with the visuals of Kelley Jones, combined with Moench’s brilliance as a writer of characters and personalities, that normalcy is almost redundant. It’s for these reasons why there has never been a run of Batman quite like this – before or since.
As for the Dark Knight himself, it’s not a simple run where his stoicism remains unchanged. Moench and Jones begin with a hero who has recently been out for the count, seemingly doomed for good. During this run, we’re seeing a Dark Knight working on his own, once again echoing the era of Finger and Kane. But in addition to this, we’re finally seeing a personality emerge in Bruce Wayne. Madolyn Corbett, and then more noticeably Vesper Fairchild, unleash a side to Bruce Wayne’s personality that doesn’t seem to be a façade. I’ve always believed that Bruce Wayne is the façade – Batman is the millionaire’s real personality. But Moench finally gives some believable – if sometimes half-baked – substance to Bruce Wayne.
During these reviews I may have criticised several elements of the run, and on the occasion heavily attacked a particular story or issue. I make no regrets of that. But despite any flaws, the Batman title from 1995 to 1998, created so exquisitely by Doug Moench, Kelley Jones, and John Beatty, must stand tall as one of the most unforgettable and most enjoyable eras in the Dark Knight’s long history. It’s no surprise at all that these tales – along with the Batman: Vampire trilogy, Dark Joker: The Wild, Haunted Gotham, and Unseen are held in such high-regard…
Next Week: Convergence (Convergence 0, 1-8). Written by Dan Jurgens, Jeff King, and Scott Lobdell, with art by Ethan Van Sciver, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Stephen Segovia, Mark Farmer, Jonathan Glapion, Julio Ferreira, Rob Hunter, Mark Roslan, Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Ed Benes, Eduardo Pansica, Aaron Lopresti, Mark Morales, Scott Hanna, and Trevor Scott.
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