Review: Batman Black and White, Vol. 1

Batman Black and White, Vol. 1 by Mark Chiarello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rating 4 out of 5 | A Grade; Enthralling

A menagerie of short stories featuring the caped crusader, sometimes kicking ass & taking names. Sometimes putting the fear of ever loving God into goons, sometimes solving impossible crimes, and sometimes just helping the neighborhood lady get the cat out of the tree. All the different aspects of the Dark knight, the facets of the person underneath the cowl, and a glimpse into the never ending, impossible mission which he has assigned for himself. Tell me where to sign up!

Bruce Wayne is not just some dude who decided to put on an animal themed costume to beat up goons and flirt with the ladies; although he does that a lot. Batman is someone who believes in people, and sees the good in them. He wants to genuinely help them, to save them from themselves and not so gently guide them towards their personal ideal. Even at the cost of his own personal safety. In this aspect, he represents the best of us, an ideal to strive for. Much like his Kryptonian counterpart. Unsurprisingly some of the best Batman stories in any media are those where he is helping the common people of Gotham.

This anthology of 20 or so stories, has a wide range of emotions, facets and psychology of the character and the world to be explored. It is like a mystery box of unknown treats (not the stale J.J. Abrams kind) which keeps you waiting in anticipation over what the next tale has to offer.



Some of the stories that really stuck with me from the bunch, are also the ones which humanized the Detective. The ones like ‘Perpetual Mourning’, ‘Monster Maker’, ‘Dead Boys Eyes’, ‘A Black & White world’, ‘In Dreams’, ‘Bent Twigs’ and ‘Leave taking’.

Plus, the artwork is just gorgeous. If there is any character which benefits from the 'Black & White' treatment, It's the Caped Crusader.




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Stories:

1. Perpetual Mourning: Ted McKeever:

The ones I couldn't get to. The ones I couldn't save in time. Those are the ones I carry around inside me. Those are the ones I mourn forever.

Batman has a midnight tryst, with a dead chick, in a morgue; It’s not what you think. This story shows how broken a man Batman is behind the façade. And his empathy, humanity, which can at times be debilitating. The way he suffers over the loss of life he was unable to stop.

2. Two of a kind: Bruce Timm

Man, Harvey Dent has no luck in Love. First it was Rene Montoya, now this broad. Bruce Timm is a master at humanizing Batman’s Rogue gallery. This could’ve been a good addition to the Animated Series.

3. The Hunt: Joe Kubert

My man batman, with his characteristic dry humor, and being a flagbearer for gender equality long before any of this SJW stuff


4. Petty Crimes: Howard Chaykin

We have Gotham's version of the Grammar Nazi. Someone who is out killing people for ; you guessed it, petty crimes. Not that I blame the guy. Sometimes there are those people who you really want to ream into. Not that I have entertained such thoughts, cough.


5. Devil's trumpet: Jose Munez

A man makes a deal with the devil to become the best saxophone player in town. Now, his allegedly cursed instrument is highly sought after, and leaves death in its wake. I really don't know if this story fits in with the whole theme. It's a decent story, but weakened by the fact that Batman only cameos at the end. And unlike the superior 'Two of a kind', doesn't tie in with the Batman mythos. Batman doesn't even need to be present for the story to happen.

6. Legend: Water Simonson

Far too short of a story, one which gave me vibes of Batman Beyond. As well as that one episode of Justice League the animated series, where alternate reality Bats is the leader of the resistance.

7. Monster Maker: Richard Corben

Faced with the deep rooted crime of Gotham, one that has seeped into even the youngest of its generation, Batman is confronted with an enemy he can't just punch away.

8. Dead Boys Eyes: Kent Williams

Underneath the cowl, the gadgets, the fanatical training and skills, the legend, the myth, the persona. Underneath it all, Bruce is still the young boy, who saw his parents get shown down in cold blood. And it’s that haunted boys, his eyes, their thirst for justice which fuels his never ending insurmountable quest for justice.



9. The Devil's Children: Jorge Zaffino

This one has to be one of the weakest stories. Just your run of the mill investigative story, the type you’d find in your weekly police procedural.

10. A Black & White world: Simon Bisley & Neil Gaiman

Leave it to Gaiman to add a meta twist on the Batman joker dynamic which has you grinning and uncomfortable in equal parts. The whole premise of Batman is played as a Saturday morning TV series; a much darker version of the Adam west TV series. The men behind the mask are pity inducing to see the least. Another reason why you shouldn’t want to meet your heroes in real life.



11. Good evening, Midnight: Klaus Janson

Now I know where they got the Intro for the Arkham Knight Game from.

We get to see the other side of Batman's crime fighting. As his pseudo father Alfred who keeps things going at home, and remembers the legacy of Thomas Wayne. How many nights, how many birthdays has he missed, hunched over the table, looking out the window, at the Batsignal fearing that today is the day when his life of crime fighting will catch up with the man. A glass raised for the ever loyal Alfred.


12. In Dreams: Liberatore & Helfer

This was reminiscent of the Batman-Ace episode in JLU, Epilogue. Batman helps a young woman to overcome her trauma and repressed memories of a kidnapping from when she was a child.

I think it's the contrast between the big bad scary batman, being kind and considerate of innocents. And he is actually trying to help them. I just love these stories, which show that, for Batman, it is all about the people, the innocents in Gotham. Again, harkening back to the ‘Perpetual Mourning’ storyline, the fact that he remembers what happened to the women when she was a child, when she herself doesn’t, and takes the effort to relieve that trauma is just heartwarming.



13. Heist: Matt Wagner

A straightforward light hearted story of how the Batman takes down a group of Burglars, Arkham Style.

14. Bent Twigs: Bill Sienkiewicz

Damn, Bats is a cat's guy. A stressed, single father with some mental issues throws his son’s cat, a brood mother, off the top of the building, killing her. Unfortunately for him, Bats is right around the corner. And he doesn’t abide by injustice, whether committed to man or beast.

As mentioned before, I love stories where Batman is helping the common people, instead of just beating them up. The theme of the story, where Batman confronts the domestic neglect of the boy at the hands of his father, is reminiscent of that one story in All Star Superman, with Supes and the girl who was about to jump off a building.



Better, it shows that the father is not just some abusive monster, just a man broken, after loss, life, and the trials of being a single parent. And Batman coming to the realization that some problems cannot be punched away, and required more institutionalized solutions. Sucks for Mamma cat, at least her kittens would be taken care of. That guy is lucky that it’s not Hellboy who found him that night.



15. A Slaying Song tonight: Teddy Kristensen

Batman helps good ol Saint Nick help some holiday joy. Or at least make sure there is no unholiday grief going around.


16. An Innocent Guy: Brian Boland

Sometimes the worst monsters are not the genetic engineered abominations, lab rats, freaks of nature, eldritch abominations or aliens. But your unassuming next door neighbor named Bob, or something. Which makes them all the more dangerous.



17. Monster in the Closet: Kevin Nowlan

Batman meets Frankenstein, as the caped crusader witnesses the horrors of a man scientist that has perverted nature’s creations.

18. Heroes: Gary Gianni

Batman vs a Nazi secret agent, with blimps involved. Enough said.

19. Leave Taking: Brian Stelfreeze

We get a ring side seat to Batman’s nightmare, as he once again becomes that 10 year old boy, who has to stand there helpless, as he sees the life drain out of his parents’ eyes. And the trauma which keeps giving and propelled Bruce in this self destructive quest for justice.

20. The Third Mask: Katsuhiro Otomo

A zany tale about Batman and multiple personalities by the manga author of ‘Akira’. But frankly I was expecting more.

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