THE LOST BATMAN EPIC
Now updated and revised!
Welcome to The Daily Batman, my archive of the little-seen Batman newspaper comic strip from 1989-1991! Here’s the introduction I wrote in my very first post, which can fill you in on a bit of the historical context surrounding this obscure and oddly-forgotten bit of Bat-history.
The original purpose of this blog was to post each strip daily, to simulate the original newspaper experience. It was a great idea at the time, but in the long run, the Tumblr format proved to be awkward and inconvenient. Also, Tumblr being Tumblr, a lot of links and tags were broken over the years, so an overhaul was in order. So I decided to repost the entire saga, complete with all-new scans of the full-color Sundays from my own personal collection! So now there’s a more accessible archive for this wonderful saga until such time as DC finally decides to give it the collection it deserves!
If you’d like to dive into the Batman comic strip from the very beginning, start here! Each post has links to carry you through all the way to the end of this wild and wonderful two-year saga. If you’d rather jump into a specific arc, here’s the table of contents, with links to each of the eight story arcs!
PART 1: THE CATWOMAN STRIKES!
Written by Max Allan Collins, art by Marshall Rogers, w/ John Nyberg.
Loosely spinning out of the events of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, the first story had Batman meeting some competition as a new, violent vigilante hits the streets: the Catwoman! But as she cuts a bloody swath through Gotham’s street gangs, Batman suspect that the Catwoman may have a hidden agenda.
Written by Max Allan Collins, the prolific veteran writer of crime novels and comics such as Road to Perdition, which was adapted to film starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. No stranger to newspaper comics, Collins was the handpicked successor for Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, which he wrote from 1977 to 1992. During his brief tenure writing for Batman, Collins created the Post-Crisis reboot of Jason Todd, turning him into a tough street kid who stole the tires off the Batmobile.
The art is by the legendary Batman artist Marshall Rogers (The Laughing Fish). Rogers tragically died in 2007 at age 57, just as he was drawing a sequel to the miniseries Batman: Dark Detective, written by his longtime collaborator Steve Englehart. While Rogers is still held in high esteem, meriting his own collection of Batman stories, his work on these strips continue to be a lost and forgotten gem.
PART 2: THE PENGUIN!
Written by William Messner-Loebs, art by Carmine Infantino and John Nyberg
A new criminal mastermind has taken over Gotham’s crime world, forcing Batman to work with a man who resents the vigilante’s very existence: District Attorney Harvey Dent, who just happens to be Bruce Wayne’s best friend!
From here on out, the strip is written by Bill Messner-Loebs, a fan-favorite writer of cleverly fun comics such as his run on Wonder Woman (where he created Artemis), as well as his collaborations with Sam Keith on Epicurus the Sage and The Maxx. Loebs has fallen on very hard times in recent years, so please consider donating to his GoFundMe if you like these strips.
The art is by Carmine Infantino, one of the giants of DC Comics’ history. As an artist, Infantino co-created Barry Allen (The Flash), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Boston Brand (Deadman), and many more. He became the publisher at DC from 1971 to 1976 and he continued to draw for comics up to his death in 2013.
PART 3: THE DEATH MERCHANTS!
A mysterious conspiracy of malcontents and provocateurs in Gotham’s high society have formed the Red Hood Gang, a cabal intended to spread violence and chaos throughout the city to force the police to take harder, more fascistic measures to fight crime. Their latest prospective member: Harvey Dent, who is struggling with his own personal demons and inner conflict over working with Batman.
Can Bruce Wayne keep his best friend from committing a terrible mistake and save the city at the same time? And who is the enigmatic leader of the Red Hood Gang? I mean, it’s the Red Hood Gang, who do you think it is?! Well, spoiler alert for a predictable twist, but...
PART 4: TRIAL OF THE JOKER!
Yeah, obviously it’s the Joker who was behind the plan to set Gotham’s citizens against each other, corrupt figures like Harvey Dent, and wreak general havoc. With the Joker’s capture, it’s time for justice to be done, and Dent is desperate to atone for the part he played in the Red Hood Gang’s schemes. When Bruce Wayne talks his best friend out of resigning, the D.A. becomes more desperate and unhinged, resorting to wire-tapping and other criminal measures to ensure that the Joker is sent behind bars. Batman is forced to choose between his friend and the legal system he himself doesn’t work within, and the consequences for Dent prove to be fateful.
PART 5: THE SECOND BIRTH OF TWO-FACE!
After being accidentally scarred by a random citizen whipped into an anti-Joker frenzy by his own actions, Dent finally loses the battle with his dark side. As Two-Face, he becomes the secret crime boss of Gotham City, and as District Attorney, he corrupts the system from within. With the help of Dent’s wife Alice and a resourceful young cop named Liz Muni, Batman knows he can save Gotham City… but can he save his best friend at the same time?
PART 6: ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER!
Reeling from his failure to help Harvey, Batman finds new hope in the form a young acrobat whose parents have been murdered by criminals. But when Batman gets in over his head, it’s up to Dick Grayson to not only protect the incapacitated Dark Knight but also avenge his parents’ deaths by dealing with the crime boss responsible.
Though this story arc is a bit more straightforward than most others in terms of how it handles classic Batman stories, it’s one of the more interesting and satisfying takes on Robin’s origin, and is a must-read for fans of Dick Grayson.
PART 7: THE DEADLY RIDDLE!
Edward Nigma is a loser and a failure of a crook, but his fortunes seem to turn when he stumbles across a suitcase filled with millions of dollars! What he doesn’t realize is that the suitcase also contained a biological weapon that can devastate a whole city! As the Riddler uses his newfound wealth to further his supervillain career, Batman and Robin have to stop him before he accidentally kills himself and everyone else in Gotham City!
This take on the Riddler is particularly silly and undignified, one which will likely displease serious fans of the character, It’s also incredibly fun, with a delightful conclusion.
PART 8: THE MAD HATTER, AND THE FACE-OFF IN ARKHAM ASYLUM!
In the grand finale of the series, Arkham Asylum gets taken over by Jervis Tetch, an inmate with the ability to craft mind-control devices. As Tetch exacts his revenge against the people who drove him mad and had his committed, Batman allies himself with Harvey Dent, the only person left in Arkham he might be able to trust. Emphasis on “might.” It all leads up to an epic conclusion unlike any ever seen in any other Batman story before or since, resulting in one of the most powerful and satisfying interpretations of Two-Face ever written.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the comics! If you like them, consider telling DC to publish them, so they can get the attention they deserve. And again, please consider donating to Bill Messner-Loebs, the man who gave us most of this wonderful lost gem!
