Batman #5 - DC Comics [Part Two]

BATMAN (FACSIMILE EDITION) No. 5, February 2024

Starting out the second half of this comic with a truly disturbing tale which actually sees the titular character threaten to cold-bloodedly murder a hapless physician if the man doesn’t save Robin’s life, Bill Finger’s "The Case of the Honest Crook" certainly should have kept its audience on the edge of their seats. True, parts of the thirteen-page plot are a little unbelievable, such as Batman singlehandedly defeating Smiley and the crime lord’s gun-toting gang despite being shot three times during the fight. But just as soon as the Boy Wonder is clobbered close to death, this narrative proves particularly enthralling, and the Dark Knight’s invulnerability to bullets could arguably be written off as simply being a result of his anger-driven adrenalin.

Bob Kane’s artwork is also rather beguiling, due to the artist pencilling plenty of panels depicting Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego aggressively punching and kicking his numerous foes to the floor. Indeed, it’s debatably hard to imagine a more brutal Caped Crusader than the one sketched in this story, as he savagely batters any and all who would stand in his way – including a medical doctor who’s door the cowled crime-fighter just happens to knock upon in his bleeding sidekick’s moment of need; “That’s the first time I ever saw it look like that! It- It was terrible… Like a demon’s!”

Likewise, "Crime Does Not Pay" provides some intriguing insights into Batman’s additional arsenal of crime-fighting tactics, courtesy of the “strange creature of darkness” donning the disguise of an out-of-town mobster in an attempt to infiltrate a murderous team of bank robbers. Furthermore, there’s a genuine notion of teamwork between the Dark Knight and Robin in Finger’s script, which helps better establish them as a legitimate dynamic duo, rather than the Caped Crusader simply sending his colourfully-costumed partner off on various errands.

Perhaps this comic’s best visual moment also appears in this yarn’s opening sequence, as the two super-heroes swing down from a high-storey rooftop so as to fall upon a pair of hoodlums. Kane provides a strong sense of momentum to this action, largely thanks to a well-drawn splash page showing his co-creations’ viewpoint from their great height - which later ends with the antagonists both careening into their fleet-footed opponents on the ground with bone-breaking force.

Writer: Bill Finger, Penciler: Bob Kane, and Inkers: Jerry Robinson & George Roussos