Sasha gets suspicious

[kingrockwell]

In conjunction with Two-Face Tuesday!

Continuing the life and times of Sasha Bordeaux, seven and a third pages from 'Tec #755, and six from #756.

At the end of Officer Down, recovering from a gunshot wound, still mourning Sara's recent death, and just generally getting a little old, Jim Gordon decided it was time for him to step down from the force, leaving the office of commissioner to Michael Akins. But for his years of distinguished service, the GCPD are hardly about to let him go without a grand send-off.

The issue opens with Bruce crying for help, but when Sasha rushes in, gun drawn, it turns out he's just having trouble with his tie.

Few things worth noting here. First, without the strong shades from previous issues, you can actually tell that Sasha'a blonde. Second, do you see how freaked out Bruce appears to be about the gun in the second panel? Third, four months, four issues. Even when he wasn't doing self-contained issues, Rucka treated the passage of time in this run the same as the publishing time. This is a theme explored further in #761, "In Thirty Days".

Anyway, they head to the party, and Bruce cavorts while Sasha thinks.


Bruce introduces her to Our Favorite Gordons, then steals Babs away to get more drinks. As Sasha watches, Jim tells her not to worry.

Telling, but pretty subtle there, Jimbo. Sasha's not quite sure what to make of the conversation, and neither is Bruce after she recounts it to him.

Everyone settles down for dinner (dry fish or rubber chicken!) when they're interrupted by a gunman who isn't so big a fan of Jim. In a ballroom full of armed police.
Yeah, it goes about as well for him as you'd expect, surrendering and the barrels of so many guns, but Sasha had already kicked into instinct by then.


As he gets up, Bruce "accidentally" flips over the table, spilling wine all over Sasha's dress. By the time the current speaker, Bullock of course, has finished leading the room in a laugh over it, Sasha realizes that Bruce has disappeared. Following him into the bathroom, she starts shouting at the only occupied stall, telling him that if she's going to be his bodyguard, he'll have to trust her with his life.

The stall opens.


It's really more embarrassing than frightening, really.

And we see what was hiding under the stage all along. Though "Dennis and Neal"? Really? I'm giving you guys two guesses, and the first one doesn't even count.
Also, this is the plan the earlier gunman needed. Hostages and back-up will tilt the scales a little in your favor.

His gun trained on Jim, Harvey tosses Sasha behind the curtain, where Batman is waiting to make his move. What is he waiting for, you ask? For Harvey to decide how permanent a farewell to make, in characteristic fashion.


And we get one of the best Two-Face moments in all of comics. i promise i'm not crying! :(


Not yet, at least.


We pick up with the next issue, featuring some ugly, ugly art by Coy Turnbull. Moreover, it's a crossover with Jeph Loeb's "President Lex" storyline, but we're just gonna ignore all the main plot elements here. Suffice it to say, Bruce and Sasha are in DC for "business" and Sasha decided to catch up with some old friends.



gods, this art

So, Bruce and Lois are trying to steal Lex's kryptonite ring, but Clark is being all "you guys can't be breaking into the White House!" and they're chasing each other all through the building. The secret service join in, with Sasha tagging along.





So, returning to the hotel, her suspicions coming to a head, Sasha starts digging.


Next time: They talk!

Comments

[intertobamf]

Is Sasha having a seizure in that panel?

[aaron_bourque]

Is Sasha having a seizure in that panel?

Shes, uh, curing her hysteria.

The very idea of Batman is cure enough, it seems.

[rhythmbandit]

She's using her "look in two directions at once" technique! AND she's having a seizure.

[thehefner]

That really is one of the all-time great Two-Face appearances, but again, dang it, I wanted more! I so wish we could've heard his speech!

And wow I remember how much I hated the art in that second issue when it came out. I think the stuff you left out is even worse!

[kingrockwell]

Man, I dunno if I can purge the images of Lois from the first few pages. It's just...yeesh. Wouldn't have known it was even her if they didn't mention it.
I know my own art style's a little rough, but I feel pretty confidently that I could've done better.

[toasty_fresh]

The color combo in that second issue is nagl. It just doesn't even make any sense, visually . . .

[superfangirl1]

I love the first story and Sasha dress. :) The art to me is very awesome,plus I enjoy playboy bruce.

[jelly_ace]

They talk!

Dun dun dun dun! I bet Bruce'll love that.

And still with the Ditz!Bruce! I dunno if I should see that as a bad characterization on the writer's part, or see as proof that Bats is a magnificent bastard who can really really act to fool everybody. And is he the one doing Dick's dance hands in the second page?

But the art...great Hera the art... :(

[aaron_bourque]

And still with the Ditz!Bruce! I dunno if I should see that as a bad characterization on the writer's part, or see as proof that Bats is a magnificent bastard who can really really act to fool everybody.

Ditz!Bruce has been around since forever. It's magnificent bastard.

[darkblade]

Well that and there are only so many non ditzy excuses for running off and disapearing as often as he does. It only makes sense to play it up in public.

[jelly_ace]

Huh. I never really saw him being a total ditz (being still somewhat new at this comic book stuff). Maybe somewhat of a ditz, but still competent. Not this level of hairbrainedness.

[aaron_bourque]

Gotta let him have his fun.

Besides, they're cops. He plays up the rich idiot with no dayjob stuff and fits into their mental slots for him.

[aaron_bourque]

But Bruce really truly secretly wanted Sasha to know he was Bruce Wayne, because he wuvvie-wuvvie-wuvved her!

. . .

Ugh. NO, Mr. Rucka. Do I need to get the Bat-Characterization Stick out again, and beat you about the FACE with it?

The main issue here is that Batman does NOT NOT NOT just drop people into his crusade. Even impressive people.

Especially women he is falling in love with.

Ugh.

Someone in the last Sasha post said that there could have been a good story about "Batman's Bodyguard." This?

Where this leads?

Was not it.

[404glitch]

I never got that he loved her, more that he was attracted and thought he [i]could[/i] love her. Though my perspective came from how they interacted in Murderer/Fugitive (since that's where I first saw Sasha), then the early stuff.

[kingrockwell]

It was a way of controlling and compartmentalizing her, not an expression of love so much as a method of stifling it, and not an acknowledgement of skill.

[aaron_bourque]

So basically, completely out of character for him.

[sailorlibra]

Well, Rucka writes a BatDick. I personally prefer a non-BatDick, but, as far as BatDicks go, Rucka's is one of the better ones.

He has nothing on the DCAU!Batman, however.

[kingrockwell]

When a characteristic abides as long as this has (something like twenty years now?), it stops being out of character.

[aaron_bourque]

Oh? Oh? IIn the past 20 years, what other love interest has Batman Shanghaied into working for him?

Catwoman? Who decided to fight on the side of the angels on her own? (and then decided not to)?

Who?

And this abiding characteristic has persisted for 20 years, despite fan complaint.

[kingrockwell]

Not the specifics, perhaps, but the processes behind them.

[aaron_bourque]

Actually, the control freak characterization of Batman--where he manipulates even his compatriots--is not something that has been around since the end of the 80s. Sure, after COIE, Batman became more hard-nosed, but aside from the retelling of how Dick left Batman's side (which few people reference directly, and even then, ignore the big focus of that issue, that maybe Batman condoned a prisoner's murder), he was never as controlling as when Rucka and Brubaker got ahold of him. Occasionally under Denny O'Neil's editorship, but still, never to this extent, where he's almost impossible to work with.

He's, be was more of a jerk. But he reached epic levels at this time.

[thebigapricot]

I had forgotten about the use of red during this run. It made me wonder if Rucka influenced JH Williams to use red for this run of 'Tec.

[angelophile]

Loving the art on this one. Is it available in trade?

[kingrockwell]

Unfortunately, the only part of Rucka's first 'Tec run that's collected (aside from Officer Down or Murderer/Fugitive tie-ins) is in , which wraps up with #750, the issue before Sasha is introduced.

[unicornicopia]

I'm pretty sure that "one part Cary Grant one part Jim Carrey" is still Cary Grant. Bringing Up Baby or Holiday, anyone?

[sistermagpie]

LOL! Very true.

[unicornicopia]

Cary Grant is known for being sexy and charming, so it's easy to forget that his comedic timing was on point.

Of course, this adds to his sex appeal and charm, haha.

[sistermagpie]

There's probably tons of meta that could be written about ditz!Bruce, the only time in his life when Bruce is kind of a ham. I know plenty of writers probably see it as self-hatred.

Anyway, I love this, especially the art in the first story.

[aaron_bourque]

ditz!Bruce, the only time in his life when Bruce is kind of a ham.

Uh . . . Batman himself is a large ham.

[sistermagpie]

You're right. The buildings of Gotham must all have teethmarks on them from all his chewing of scenery.

I should say ditz!Bruce is the one time he gets to be a ham in a comedic role rather than a heavy.

[3goodtimes]

I want to eat this entire post like salt water taffy. Delicious!

[acton]

I . . . I must buy these. I NEED these.

[rhythmbandit]

Playboy Bruce and Sasha are so good in that first comic. Is that Shotgun (from the Robin comic) talking to Bruce on the second page, wearing that hat? That would be an awesome team-up.

[kingrockwell]

Oh! I'd mistaken that for Bullock, but it looks like he wasn't wearing his hat to the party (also he's a lot more whiskery), so it might just be!

[lieut_kettch]

And thus begins her obsession with millionaire geniuses with perfect physiques and crushing emotional baggage.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I'm not getting this whole red/blue tinting thing. I don't see the reason for it. Why not just have normal coloring?
I'm guessing the reason that the 'wacky bumbler playboy' act that Bruce puts on is that extreme because he really does have so few opportunities to have fun. Putting on the persona of a guy who's guaranteed to slip on the one banana peel for miles around must be the closest he gets to genuinely enjoying himself these days.