The Batman Family and Beyond: 1975-1991 (reviews by shaxper)
Jan 22, 2019 21:09:20 GMT -5
chadwilliam likes this
Post by shaxper on Jan 22, 2019 21:09:20 GMT -5
Batman Family #15 (January 1978)
Over the past two issues each of Batman Family and Teen Titans, I've repeatedly noticed lettering and coloring errors, and not just on the part of a single person. The logical explanation would seem to be that those issues were all rushed, and the single factor they have in common is Bob Rozakis.
Seems to me that writing Teen Titans, as well as all three features for Batman Family, is finally catching up to the guy. He's falling behind on deadlines. And thus, I suspect its this and not issues of artistic merit that get Rozakis thrown off the lead feature of Batman Family two issues from now.
Batgirl and Robin: "Find the Batcave and Rule the Underworld"
Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Lee Elias
Inks: Joe Giella
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Milt Snapinn
Grade: C
When Killer Moth and Cavalier last teamed-up in Batman Family #10, it was Rozakis at his Atom Age best: hokey, ridiculous, but immensely fun and funny. This time around, the deadline pressure seems to generate a far inferior second outing from Rozakis, full of some truly lazy and non-sensical plotting that makes this little moment from Robin a bit insulting:
Oh, so you WANT us to pay attention to the fine details, Rozakis?
Fine, then explain how in the world Batgirl anticipates Killer Moth's entire plot just by the fact that he allowed two cops to watch him sabotage Batgirl's motorcyle:
She might have GUESSED Killer Moth wanted her to lead him to Batman, but not that he was specifically after the Batcave nor any other aspect of his plan that she inexplicably anticipated throughout the issue.
And really, that's just one aspect of this story that makes no damn sense, but that's par for the course from Rozakis, and I don't intend to spend hours recounting it all. Suffice to say, this issue makes no more sense than most Rozakis stories, but it's a lot less fun, and somehow Rozakis expects us to be watching it closely WITHOUT seeing all its problems.
...such as how poorly The Cavalier continues to use the amazingly powerful (and seemingly limitless) hologram projector that offers a five second distraction early in this story:
...or how Robin builds an entire fake fortress on a moment's notice in order to make The Cavalier believe he is an alien:
which, in typical Rozakis fashion, he explains away in an epilogue:
I mean...we never even saw nor heard mention of Superman ANYWHERE in this issue prior to this moment. And this is now the second time in two issues where superheroes are just waiting around by the phone for Dick to call in favors from them on a moment's notice. This one really and truly wasn't necessary.
"Hey, Superman, I realize it will probably mean the deaths of a handful of citizens of Metropolis, but would you mind leaving them for an hour or so in order to help me play a senseless and unnecessary prank on a two-bit villain you've never met? Thanks!"
Don't get me wrong -- the alien prank is the closest to funny this issue ever gets, and the red herring that Killer Moth takes at face-value is amusing as well:
but it's not that fun of a story, overall. Certainly not on the level of the last Killer Moth / Cavalier adventure.
Minor Details:
- Last issue promised us that this one would reveal whether or not Lori has uncovered Dick's dual identity as Robin. Oops. Once again, Rozakis seems rushed and careless with his scripts as of late.
- Batgirl apparently goes out on regular patrols now, or at least routinely monitors and responds to the police band. It takes exactly three random robberies for Killer Moth to attract Batgirl's attention when she wasn't already conveniently in the area as Congresswoman Gordon:
Up until now, she has become Batgirl only of necessity. I'm guessing Rozakis just got lazy here. Because, of course, a congresswoman has time to be a full-time superhero too.
Man-Bat: "Target: The Shotgun Sniper!"
Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Michael Golden
Inks: Michael Golden
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Gaspar Saladino
Grade: A-
I didn't realize that Saladino did interior lettering. It looks gorgeous in places, but generally seems like a waste of his immense cover talents. But I think Julie Schwartz is recognizing at this point that what sells the Man-Bat feature is the art, and thus we have DC's top letterer aiding a stellar artist who actually gets to ink his own work. Man, does it look good:
And I started to suspect a few issues back that Rozakis is allowing these artists to do a good deal of the plotting, as these stories never feel like anything Rozakis is writing for his other features, last issue's absurd Man-Bat outing aside. This particular story is grim, gritty, and far too bronze-agey for the shiny, silly, Atom-Age writer that Rozakis has proven to be. Even the very concept of the issue -- a serial killer homing in on Man-Bat's pregnant wife, and Man-Bat as the prime suspect -- is far far too noir for Rozakis:
But, again, it's truly the art that sells this installment, and boy does it all come together amazingly for the cliff-hanger:
Batman's Bureau of Missing Villains: Mr. Polka-Dot
In closing, I'm truly glad we will be seeing a changing of the guard for this title in two issues' time. Rozakis is going out with a bang on the Teen Titans title, but he's clearly phoning in Batman Family at this point.
Over the past two issues each of Batman Family and Teen Titans, I've repeatedly noticed lettering and coloring errors, and not just on the part of a single person. The logical explanation would seem to be that those issues were all rushed, and the single factor they have in common is Bob Rozakis.
Seems to me that writing Teen Titans, as well as all three features for Batman Family, is finally catching up to the guy. He's falling behind on deadlines. And thus, I suspect its this and not issues of artistic merit that get Rozakis thrown off the lead feature of Batman Family two issues from now.
Batgirl and Robin: "Find the Batcave and Rule the Underworld"
Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Lee Elias
Inks: Joe Giella
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Milt Snapinn
Grade: C
When Killer Moth and Cavalier last teamed-up in Batman Family #10, it was Rozakis at his Atom Age best: hokey, ridiculous, but immensely fun and funny. This time around, the deadline pressure seems to generate a far inferior second outing from Rozakis, full of some truly lazy and non-sensical plotting that makes this little moment from Robin a bit insulting:
Oh, so you WANT us to pay attention to the fine details, Rozakis?
Fine, then explain how in the world Batgirl anticipates Killer Moth's entire plot just by the fact that he allowed two cops to watch him sabotage Batgirl's motorcyle:
She might have GUESSED Killer Moth wanted her to lead him to Batman, but not that he was specifically after the Batcave nor any other aspect of his plan that she inexplicably anticipated throughout the issue.
And really, that's just one aspect of this story that makes no damn sense, but that's par for the course from Rozakis, and I don't intend to spend hours recounting it all. Suffice to say, this issue makes no more sense than most Rozakis stories, but it's a lot less fun, and somehow Rozakis expects us to be watching it closely WITHOUT seeing all its problems.
...such as how poorly The Cavalier continues to use the amazingly powerful (and seemingly limitless) hologram projector that offers a five second distraction early in this story:
...or how Robin builds an entire fake fortress on a moment's notice in order to make The Cavalier believe he is an alien:
which, in typical Rozakis fashion, he explains away in an epilogue:
I mean...we never even saw nor heard mention of Superman ANYWHERE in this issue prior to this moment. And this is now the second time in two issues where superheroes are just waiting around by the phone for Dick to call in favors from them on a moment's notice. This one really and truly wasn't necessary.
"Hey, Superman, I realize it will probably mean the deaths of a handful of citizens of Metropolis, but would you mind leaving them for an hour or so in order to help me play a senseless and unnecessary prank on a two-bit villain you've never met? Thanks!"
Don't get me wrong -- the alien prank is the closest to funny this issue ever gets, and the red herring that Killer Moth takes at face-value is amusing as well:
but it's not that fun of a story, overall. Certainly not on the level of the last Killer Moth / Cavalier adventure.
Minor Details:
- Last issue promised us that this one would reveal whether or not Lori has uncovered Dick's dual identity as Robin. Oops. Once again, Rozakis seems rushed and careless with his scripts as of late.
- Batgirl apparently goes out on regular patrols now, or at least routinely monitors and responds to the police band. It takes exactly three random robberies for Killer Moth to attract Batgirl's attention when she wasn't already conveniently in the area as Congresswoman Gordon:
Up until now, she has become Batgirl only of necessity. I'm guessing Rozakis just got lazy here. Because, of course, a congresswoman has time to be a full-time superhero too.
Man-Bat: "Target: The Shotgun Sniper!"
Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Michael Golden
Inks: Michael Golden
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Gaspar Saladino
Grade: A-
I didn't realize that Saladino did interior lettering. It looks gorgeous in places, but generally seems like a waste of his immense cover talents. But I think Julie Schwartz is recognizing at this point that what sells the Man-Bat feature is the art, and thus we have DC's top letterer aiding a stellar artist who actually gets to ink his own work. Man, does it look good:
And I started to suspect a few issues back that Rozakis is allowing these artists to do a good deal of the plotting, as these stories never feel like anything Rozakis is writing for his other features, last issue's absurd Man-Bat outing aside. This particular story is grim, gritty, and far too bronze-agey for the shiny, silly, Atom-Age writer that Rozakis has proven to be. Even the very concept of the issue -- a serial killer homing in on Man-Bat's pregnant wife, and Man-Bat as the prime suspect -- is far far too noir for Rozakis:
But, again, it's truly the art that sells this installment, and boy does it all come together amazingly for the cliff-hanger:
Batman's Bureau of Missing Villains: Mr. Polka-Dot
In closing, I'm truly glad we will be seeing a changing of the guard for this title in two issues' time. Rozakis is going out with a bang on the Teen Titans title, but he's clearly phoning in Batman Family at this point.
