A little more Scarecrow horror for Halloween...

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

From Detective 571, from the marvellously retro run of Mike W Barr and Alan Davis...



As with all good stories this has been a BEAR to trim down and keep the best moments. It has everything I look for in a story like this, a great Batman and Robin dynamic (This was one of the last issues to feature Jason Todd 1.0 (or it might be early Jason Todd 2.0 depending on which side of the cusp you look on this as being), nice simple sinister plot from the villain, and the rest you'll see for yourself as this continues...

We start with Jason and Bruce on an unusual stakeout at....



Instantly I know I'm going to love this. In the middle of a racetrack Bruce is wearing a suit that probably cost more than the combined annual salary of everyone else in the stand put together, and is all business. Jason, on the other hand, is stuffing his face with concession food!

This is business because there have been a spate of odd accidents amongst Gotham sportsmen, a high-diver who nearly broke his back attempting an impossible quintuple somersault, and a hanf glider who swooped too low and was nearly killed when he crashed. Jack Hogan, three time winner of the Indianapolis 500, may be next!

What Jason appears to be doing in this next image has long been a source of sniggering from those who wish to read it in a smutty light... I will refrain from comment.



So it's an instant dash to change into costume, which they managed just as Hogan attempts a lethal turn and flips out...



And this has all the context it needs... seriously...



I love Robin's expression, biting his lip as he worries over Batman. This is clearly Robin as a young kid (The story later confirms that he's 12), who is worried he's out of his depth half the time. And even though he probably is, he keeps going anyway, that's what being brave is all about.



It's worth noting that Batman takes the time to reassure Robin of how brave he was and how vital his aid was. (And there's something about Robin following up Batman's shout of "Medic" which reminds me of what my nephews used to do, copying their dad because copying dad is always cool)

They get Hogan to the hospital, where he can't explain his actions but does note that he'd do it again in a moment if he had the chance....

Bruce and Jason head back to the Batcave to check out Hogan's blood sample... Again I love the art here, Bruce feeling around for the slide, Jason staring at it to no obvious end, and Bruce's and Jason's priceless expressions as Jason hands it over. Jason is SUCH a kid here. (Take that psycho-Jason fans! Ahem.. sorry)



It's a Scarecrow toxin, and cue another nice little scene I've had to cut, where the plot exposition for readers about who the Scarecrow is is given in the form of Jason having to show to Bruce that he's done his homework, and can recite the past of Professor Jonathan Crane...

They decide to split up, Robin will stake out Hogan's hospital room in case anything happens to the CURRENT target, whilst Batman will stake out the home of Alvin Kenner, a stunt cyclist, who is a likely NEXT target.

Sure enough, the Scarecrow comes a-calling on Hogan, having given the medical staff on that floor of the hospital a mild case of pathophobia (fear of disease) to make sure he's not disturbed... Hogan takes Scarecrow to task for not warning him about the side effects of the chemical he'd bought which was supposed to remove any fear he had when competing...





Jason starts to hallucinate about recent events, with a burning, skeletal Batman emerging from flames...





I love those last pages, partly because the Scarecrow apparently carries a nice little wheeled baggie for transporting kidnapped Boy Wonders more easily, but mostly for those last with Hogan, it's horrible, and sad, but I confess I giggled a little.

The Scarecrow next makes an appearance at Alvin Kenner's penthouse...



Batman immediately goes to offer him one which, as it turns out, was a mistake, as Scarecrow hits him with a dart...



Oooh, that's a bit of a low blow there Batman, Robin's still in training, but it seems a mite thoughtless.

The darts are anaesthetic tipped, but the Scarecrow hits him with another kinds which...



When Batman wakes up, he opens the envelope... and that's when it starts to get scary...



I've always said that Batman frowning would be terrifying, but Batman smiling? That would be SERIOUS wetting oneself time, and no one does creepy smiling Batman as well as Alan Davis.

Meanwhile, at the Atlas Quarry, Scarecrow is introducing a captive Robin to another aspect of being the Boy Hostage... you have to listen to the villains GLOATING.... "Batman isn't here yet..."





I love the fact that Davis went to the trouble of showing the cut stitching around the place where Robin's insignia had been removed. And again, he does GREAT expressions...





Luckly he managed to avoid the four trucks heading towards him by jumping straight up in the air.... Then on to the rest of the complex...





Batman shifting between thrill seeking adrenaline junkie, and coldly logical manhunter, is nicely done... the bit about "I'm already halfway... No I'm ONLY halfway" is great.

Next up, a classic trap which could have come straight from the 1940's or 50's.... in fact, some of it did... A giant, steel, spiked-covered Batman-crushing tube heading towards him...





Jason is many things, but he has a lousy poker face. From crying real, if manly, tears, to sheer joy in a second or two...isn't it cute?

Batman takes out Scarecrow with a single uppercut to the jaw...



And again, I find the obvious parent/child relationship overcomes any sort of inapproprate implications of their relationship.

Batman explains that, as the guns were fixed in place, all he needed to do was used the air trapped in his cape when he fell in, and controlled breathing, to outlast the guns firing duration.

And the final bit is a nice exemplar of Batman's concerns over Robin at times like this....



"Yeah, years after you've ACTUALLY been murdered by the Joker, and then come back as a psycho maniac who is as unlike this version of you as it's possible to be, we'll look back and have some yucks..."

Looking at this a few more times, I really have to add a word in praise of Adrienne Roy as colourist. We're used to a more sophisticated colour range these days, with computer colouring options and improved printing and paperstock, but Roy is quite prepared to make the limited colours work for her and isn't afraid to amp up the colours. They amplify the cartoony feel to the art (just look at just HOW bright Robin's tunic and cape are compared to everything else in any scene he's in) without making it look childishly OVERbright.

Comments

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

Both of them are almost too cute here for words. I love Bruce swishing his cape like a flamboyant matador, Jason stuffing his face, Jason's incredibly puffy hair, just Jason's expressions and body all around.

I love this style of drawing where the body language etc. is sort of...what's the word? It's just that it's so clearly done. A lot of comics today seem like they're more realistic but I like people striking poses that show what they're feeling.

[lonewolf23k.insanejournal.com]

"what's the word?"

Expressive?

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Thanks for posting. I love seeing this Batman, and this Batman and Robin dynamic. Great post, great scary/but not a dick Batman. Also enjoy seeing Batman be human. It ramps up the story tension and interest factor for me. Nice. I bet it *was* a pain to edit down. Thanks.

[swingbound.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

That is some wonderful fun! The interplay between smiling!Bats and grr!Bats was great. The faces are just wow. That scene with Jason and Bruce in the cave is a joy to look over. It really displays the Batman-Robin relationship.

And finally, after all the grim and angst we've seen, it's hard to believe this is how Jason used to be portrayed. Dunno what to make of that.

[janegray.insanejournal.com]

And finally, after all the grim and angst we've seen, it's hard to believe this is how Jason used to be portrayed. Dunno what to make of that.

Intentional sabotage on the part of the writer (Jim Starlin admitted that he hated the very idea of kid sidekicks, so he purposefully tried to make Jason as unlikeable as possible in order to have an excuse to kill him off. He also admitted that he would have done the same to Dick if Dick had still been Robin at the time) + The Dark Knight Returns (which make GRIM AND GRITTY popular) + DC's white-and-black mentality (basically, if you aren't 100% pure like a napkin, you must be an evil psycopath. Apparently Max Lord was turned into a genocidal monster because "[he] had a mean streak").

[nagaoka.insanejournal.com]

Oh wow this is so fantastic! The expressions! The body language! The character in the characters (especially Jason's fears during the water hose incident and the trauma it seemed to cause him...I'd react the same way)

The "I CAN!" expression is just priceless. I didn't notice it at first, but I also love the "I CAAAAAAAN!" text that follows the arc of his leap. Cuuute.

[toasty_fresh.insanejournal.com]

I love this story. It is just too absolutely adorable for me to even entertain any untoward thoughts about it . . .

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

The Barr/Davis run is full of stuff like this, it's a shame it was only something like 7 issues.

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

Brilliant idea for a Scarecrow story.

The rest is great as well.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Indeed, and about the best proof of why "Green Lanterns are without fear" as originally presented (I know they've worked on it over time), never worked for me as a kid, because fear isn't always a negative emotion.

[filthysize.insanejournal.com]

This was the inspiration for the animated episode "Never Fear", right?

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Certainly the same basic principle of "Scarecrow removing fears, and the consequences of same"

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Those who wish to read it in a smutty light should get their mind out of the gutter. It's a HOT DOG, for goodness sake - how else would you eat it? (Well, OK, if you want to be pedantic, you could slice it up with a knife and fork and eat it that way - but pretty much the POINT of hot dogs is that you DON'T eat 'em that way. Same with burgers, and pizza - they're casual food, food that sheds table manners from it like water off a duck's back. Knives and forks need not apply.)

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I believe it's more of a case of what it looks like if you trim the picture in such a way to just remove the end of it, so you can't see it's a hotdog.

[retro_nouveau.insanejournal.com]

Those who wish to read it in a smutty light should get their mind out of the gutter.

I think it's best to try to keep one's mind out of the gutter, but there's no going back once it's in there... :)

[galateus.insanejournal.com]

You say that like people are seeing it on purpose, even when the reaction's DO NOT WANT. (Oh hey there, Kory. (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/933369.html))

[jelly_ace.insanejournal.com]

It is a hotdog. But then you see the mustard(?) ketchup(?) oozing out of the hotdog, and then you see Davis's accurately drawn Jason's mouth...

[taggerung301.insanejournal.com]

I'm loving this art

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I can look at Davis art for hours, and see something new each time, for instance, I genuinely hadn't noticed the couple sitting behind Bruce in the first scan are clearly making out... it's completely incidental and unimportant, but nicely human.

[jlroberson.insanejournal.com]

One of the very best Batman runs and it's a shame so many forget it. And another reason why the Crisis was bad, at least for Batman: there was no REASON to change Jason. In fact, there wasn't really any reason for the Crisis to change Batman. YEAR ONE only expanded on stuff that was already known and filled in gaps. But needlessly they let Max Collins and Jim Starlin spoil something that was just fine. And that's how we ended up with the Jason we now know, who wasn't this one. This one simply disappeared.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I like to think that somewhere out in the 52 worlds, that the Barr/Davis Batman and Jason Todd 1.0 are still out there, being heroic and adorable in equal measure.

[salamangkiero.insanejournal.com]

What I liked about Alan Davis was how he could easily swing from cartoonish to scary, without taking a figurative break in stride with his artwork.

Though I have to say, Bruce Wayne's hairline is hellagay. And, aside from the said Hotdog argument, this presentation of batman and robin, while verging on sensual, is NOT erotic.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

A HAIRLINE can be gay? Who knew....

I don't even get "sensual" out of this. Tactile perhaps, but nothing that would be inappropriate between a father and his 12 year old son.

[nevermore999.insanejournal.com]

Batman's so NICE and SUPPORTIVE of Jason here! This is the Batman I love! I want to hug him, he's so adorable! And so is Jason!

And the expressions make me giggle.

[caeliluminar.insanejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. Nice story, and like the others, love the art. That matador Batman is precious.

[magus_69.insanejournal.com]

Alan Davis: LOVE.