Batman Shadow of the Bat Annual #1 (1993) Bloodlines Outbreak Part 3

[pyrotwilight]

Last part of this event we saw what happened when a Parasite struck Metropolis while it was protected by Steel. This issue we see how Batman fares in Gotham against one.

Time to meet a new Gotham hero, Joe Public!

18 pages from a 56 page story.

 

The story opens with Gemir, the Parasite of Greed going on a romp through Gotham, luring women away into quiet areas of the city. 



Batman enters the story as he beats up a criminal and his girlfriend after he tracked theem down, knowing they're working for a criminal known as Happy Jack, a drug peddler. 



Meanwhile we see Gemir has been busy collecting many people as a food supply and keeping them in one of Gotham's islets. 

Some of the trapped people try to muster the courage to attack Gemir when he enters to thrown in the new victim.



Cause Gemir's greedy of course.

While Batman's working his own leads into Happy Jack another figure in the Gotham night is doing so as well.





Bruce has a hell of a makeup artist and I guess bald headed masks to use.



During the scuffle Batman suits up to take down Happy Jack and Joe Public enters the scene as well. In a confused moment as neither expected another crusader to pop up Jack uses the confusion to escape.





I have to admit Joe's willingness to tell Bats to shove the attitude is refreshing.

Then the story gets a bit confusing when they show a small time Gotham character whose only made two other appearances once before and once after this story from what little I know of her, a lady named Pagan.



Gotta love her logic and it is nice to see other Gotham heroes like her.

 

...Way to snub Joe there Batman!

As they search around they come upon one of Happy Jack's former helpers.



And then Joe enters the scene having finally found Jack. Happy however has a weapon and tasers him while Joe's giving a speech. 

"Dunno what your gripe is pal- but you lecture like a teacher!"



Enter Gemir who flies by and snatches both of them to the islet he's keeping the others, dropping Happy to the floor killing him and then feasting on Joe.



Pagan and Batman see the monster flying toward the island and pursue them coming upon Gemir.



Bats and Pagan find an unconscious Joe on the ground and pull him along making their way inside to where the people are, though they don't know it.







With his newfound strength he grabs onto Gemir trying to hurt him but the further away he gets from the others the weaker he feels until he gets loose and falls.

                                                                                                                                                   

Comments

[crinos]

Batman Duke Nukem, together at last!

[btravage]

That criminal has got himself some nice hater-blockers at least.

[destroyed]

Were I Batman, I too would be wary of trusting a "crime fighter" who looks like Vanilla Ice and sounds like Vinnie Barbarino.

[thehefner]

Maybe it's just his years on Judge Dredd showing, but man, Alan Grant loves to have characters say "creep!" in his Batman comics. Seriously, check out any Alan Grant Batman comic, and see if Batman--or someone else--doesn't call someone else "creep!" at least once.

[thelazyreader]

Is that Batman Bruce Wayne or Jean Paul Valley? Because he's being unbelievalbly tolerant of other vigilantes on Gotham. The Batman I know would just go 'STAY OUT OF MY CITY!' and either hound them till they leave or beat them up.

If 'Joe Public' really went back to his old job he's got a promising career in professional sports waiting.

[wizardru]

This is Batman circa 1993, before he became the Bat God. Batman used to be extremely tolerant of other vigilantes in Gotham. Just ask The Creeper, Ragman, Simon Dark, Jason Blood, The Question, Plastic Man and Hitman; not to mention the Birds of Prey, among others.

Gotham has had a long tradition of non-Batman vigilantes operating there...but it wasn't until the late 90s that Batman got all up in their grill about it.

[darkblade]

Simon Dark wasn't even concept art in the corner of someone's eye yet when this was made and he didn't last long enough before being sent to comics limbo to ever cross paths with a Bat.

[okkult3000]

I like how Pagan explains her origin to Batman in one breath (at least, that's how I imagine her saying all of that).

[shanejayell]

It's embarrassing how many of the annuals I own. Of course I got 'em out of 50 cent bins years later....

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

That's entirely possible, she does have good...lungs.

[jarodrussell]

Is that Batman Bruce Wayne or Jean Paul Valley?

It was JPV by the time Bloodlines hit Detective and Batman proper, and the Batmobile certainly looks like JPV's Batmobile, but without the gauntlets the window for it be JPV is pretty small. He started upgrading the suit almost out of the gate.

[recognitions]

"Holy Hannah"? Is Jack Oliver Queen in disguise?

Is Giordano the penciller? I really like his Batman. Very Finger-esque. Although that makes me wonder, do Batman's ears ever get bent?

[icon_uk]

No, it's not Giordano, the Bat-face is to.. stylised for him, I'm embarrassed to say I had to look it up and as soon as I read "Trevor Von Eeden" it was a genuine facepalm "Of COURSE it is!" moment

[joasakura]

That...is some terrible costume design on Joe Public there.

OH 90s.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I think it's Bruce. The timing's a bit off, since he was supposed to be in a wheelchair by now, but he'd encountered Pagan before and had a semi-sympathetic relationship with her, whereas Jean Paul didn't. (Plus, this just doesn't FEEL like Jean Paul, if that makes sense.) Given that Gemir has probably been hunting down victims for at least a few weeks, it's possible this takes place just prior to Bane blowing up Arkham.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I have to say, I like Joe Public. I like his powers - they'd make him an interesting addition to a team; he'd have to be the last-ditch emergency secret weapon - I like that, as his name suggests, he's just a regular guy doing his best to fight the bad guys, I even like his somewhat outlandish patriotic outfit. (It's like he's trying to psyche himself up to do the job by making himself look like the hero of an action movie.) I wish they'd used him more - I don't know whether he's still around or not, but there hasn't been a peep out of him for years.

[kamino_neko]

I'm pretty sure I've seen parodies of patriotic heroes with exactly the same costume Joe's wearing....