Batman: Urban Legends #19 [Part Two] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 19, November 2022

Providing Alfred Pennyworth with plenty of pathos and personality, Chris Burnham’s script for “On The Hook” certainly must have pleased anyone with even a passing interest in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. For whilst the butler’s extremely engaging investigation into the theft of some jade jewellery is easily entertaining in its own right as the manservant desperately attempts to discern some meaning from all the clues he slowly uncovers. The ten-page plot debatably ramps up to another level once his informant Mollie starts talking about immigrant whalers discovering an ancient treasure deep within the belly of a malformed marine mammal, and it’s chilling connection to the aquatic deity Dagon.

In addition, the comic book artist does a first-rate job in permeating his pencilling of “The Pennyworth Files” with all manner of tentacles, nervous glimpses into shadowy corners and mysterious fish-faced stalkers. These side-glances, moments of haunting doubt and resolute bravado genuinely help imbue all this narrative’s cast with plenty of intriguing emotion, and will arguably cause many in the audience to sympathetically sigh with relief at the instalment’s end when Bruce Wayne’s determined employee realises he no longer needs to risk his life by covertly infiltrating “the D’Agostino Murder Manor”. But rather visit the Headless Mummy of Dagon display at the Gotham City Museum instead; “I’ll take an elder god over the mafia any day!”

Equally as mesmerising due to its detailed insight into the World’s Greatest Detective is “Leather Bound” by Brandon Easton, which doubtless provided this anthology’s audience with many a nightmare concerning giant reptiles feasting upon human limbs in unpleasant smelling sewer systems. Initially hinting at perhaps a team-up between Batman and the villainous Killer Croc, the Baltimore-born writer instead rather excitingly establishes a traumatic three-way battle, where the Dark Knight must defeat both Waylon Jones’ super-strong alter-ego, and simultaneously track down a mysterious maniac who is obsessed with skinning his four-legged victims’ scaly hides.

Artist Will Robson should also be given a resonant round of applause for his contribution to this twenty-two page thriller, with his depiction of the Caped Crusader proving particularly memorable. However, it is probably the illustrator’s incredibly detailed drawings of all this terrifying tale’s numerous cold-blooded killers which will linger in any perusing bibliophile’s memory, courtesy of some imaginative panels showing massively-mouthed crocodiles, komodo dragons and snakes all desperately trying to take a chunk out of Bill Finger’s co-creation.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #19 by Dike Ruan

Batman: Urban Legends #19 [Part One] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 19, November 2022

Leading with a twenty-two-page plot which could easily have held its own as a standalone comic book issue, Brandon Thomas’ second instalment to his “Signal And The Outsiders” storyline certainly seems to show just how a super-team should co-ordinate a multi-pronged infiltration of a villain’s nefarious headquarters. In fact, Metamorpho’s tense, well-penned exploration of Doctor Alan March’s Rose Creek Rehabilitation Clinic proves an incredibly intriguing experience, as both the likes of Katana, Black Lightning and even Batman, as well as the reader, wait with bated breath for the metahuman to give the word he has located Duke’s long thought dead mother.

Enjoyably, this sense of anticipation is arguably only heightened by Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque’s layouts, which prove particularly strong once Kirk Langstrom’s father-in-law transforms into a monstrous Man-bat and leads an attack upon the publication’s astonished protagonists with an army of zombie-like convalescents. These sense-shattering scenes are especially noteworthy as Signal is desperately trying to ensure that he doesn’t hurt any of the innocent invalids attempting to savagely stab him to death, and this concern is impressively pencilled upon the youth’s cowled face throughout the increasingly desperate confrontation.

Much darker and disconcerting in tone is Zac Thompson’s “Tiny Hands In The Dark”, which depicts Batman investigating a series of grisly murders which apparently point at a small, homicidal child committing the night-time mutilations. Gruesome in its depiction of slit throats and spilled human intestines, many within this anthology’s audience will probably be hard-pressed to imagine a more disturbingly sinister spirit to just a “Teen Rated” tale concerning the Caped Crusader, as the World’s Greatest Detective discovers the trail of corpses he's doggedly following leads back to the footsteps of the Monarch Theatre where his crime-fighting persona was born; “I like stickin’ peoples guts! I like swimming my hand in ‘em! Spillin’ em like psaghetti!”

Ensuring that this already decidedly grim yarn is even gloomier is Hayden Sherman, whose marvellous layouts atmospherically add a genuine feeling of claustrophobia to the storytelling, particularly once the true villain is revealed and the Dark Knight has to fight for his life against a real psychopath. Also well worth highlighting, as they add bucket loads of atmosphere to the “award-winning” author’s narrative, are Dave Stewart’s colours, which splatter all the pulse-pounding proceedings with a traumatic gizzard-pink hue.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #19 by Dike Ruan

Batman: Urban Legends #18 [Part Two] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 18, October 2022

Helping to establish this anthology comic’s second half with a genuinely enthralling experience, Chris Burnham’s “The Fall Of The Scales” provides an intriguing insight into Alfred Pennyworth’s own deductive capabilities, whilst simultaneously conjuring up all manner of Lovecraftian Mythos-based mummery. Indeed, many bibliophiles, understandably mesmerised by the elderly servant’s deadly investigation into the robbery of a well-stocked bazaar, were doubtless half expecting the butler to actually make his way to the “decrepit town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts” before the ten-page plot played out.

Similarly as beguiling is the Connecticut-born creator’s pencilling for this aptly named ‘Pennyworth File’, with the American artist producing some fascinating panels absolutely packed full of gloriously-detailed trinkets, shady side-glances, and the obligatory fish-faced antagonist. Furthermore, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Burnham’s decision to include some significant humour into his tale, with the out-of-town Batman’s reaction to his friend’s repeated phone-calls for advice causing quite the guffaw whenever they appear; “I’m not certain how to ensure his safety. Master Bruce, are you there?! Blast it all.”

Focusing far more upon the Dark Knight and the costumed vigilante’s significant demons following the death of Jason Todd, Tini and Blake Howard’s “Night Terrors” provides a truly traumatic depiction of Tim Drake’s early days alongside the Caped Crusader. In fact, the story is cleverly written from the latest Robin’s perspective and resultantly hooks the audience in with the adolescent’s understandable fears for his mentor when Gotham City’s “King Maniac” momentarily gives way to Doctor John Dee’s terrifying, sleep-based psychosis.

Also adding an extra element of vulnerability to Batman’s usually impenetrable psyche are Max Raynor’s adrenalin-charged layouts, which one minute show the intimidating scale of an eerily quiet Arkham Asylum, and in the next adds some incredible pace to the proceedings via half a dozen small-sized panels depicting the Dynamic Duo rushing to help an unconscious nurse. This technique proves particularly powerful towards the yarn’s end, when the audience are given access to a 'frozen' Wayne reliving how horribly he believes Jason died at the hands of the Joker, and subsequently superimposes that distressing mental picture upon his new companion’s present predicament.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #18 by Liam Sharp

Batman: Urban Legends #18 [Part One] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 18, October 2022

For those readers of Brandon Thomas’ “Signal And The Outsiders” who weren’t familiar with “the events of The Caretaker and The Fearful”, this opening tale to Issue Eighteen of “Batman: Urban Legends” probably wouldn’t have made too much sense until the twenty-two page plot is at least half-way finished. Sure, the narrative eventually suggests that Duke and his team-mates are primarily fighting for the planet’s future in some sort of three-battle competition against Vogel the Lord and his Subterranean Forces. But these scraps of context are only fed to the audience in a piecemeal fashion as the main narrative focuses upon the teenage vigilante’s obsession in finding his dead mother and difficulty in getting enough sleep.

Happily however, despite this uncertainty as to what is actually going on, Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque’s artwork more than manages to hold the attention until the adventure is played out, courtesy of some particularly well-pencilled set-pieces and wonderfully dynamic splash pages. Indeed, quite possibly this yarn’s best moment comes when the Spanish illustrator draws an adrenalin-charged chase through the streets of Gotham City as Batman tackles the evidently ‘mad as a March hare’ Wonderland Gang.

Far more straightforward, though a tale which simply doesn’t stop in its relentless drive to reach a somewhat succinct conclusion after only ten pages, is “Blood In And Blood Out” by Henry Barajas. Crammed full of depictions of the Caped Crusader battering away at a great mystical eye whilst the demon Etrigan confronts his adopted brother Lord Scapegoat, the pulse-pounding pace of the ensuing carnage begins just as soon as the “Latinx author from Tucson” quickly establishes that Bruce Wayne has bought the haunted Huitzilopochtli Statue so as to return it “back to Mexico’s Museum of Anthropology.”

Sketching all this chaos and insanely fast shenanigans is Serg Acuna, who does an excellent job of drawing both the Dark Knight in his prime, always one step ahead of his foe no matter how bizarre they may be, and the joy had by Jason Blood’s yellow-hued alter ego as he repeatedly batters his goat-headed sibling at the foot of a truly unholy-looking altar. Furthermore, the graphic designer impressively shows that there is much more to the character of Randhir Singh than just being a psychic-skilled ally of Etrigan; “This makes him your half-brother!”

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #18 by Liam Sharp

Batman: Urban Legends #17 [Part Two] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 17, September 2022

On plain paper a battle between this anthology’s titular character and Theo Ramses Djoser Teth-Adam would appear to be a rather short, infinitely one-sided affair, with Otto Binder's dauntingly super-powered co-creation winning the tussle within a matter of mere moments. However, such a disconcertingly brief conclusion doesn’t take into account the Justice Leaguer’s ability to out-think his opponent, and Alex Paknadel’s script for “Statecraft” arguably does a first-class job of depicting just that; “Hawkman was right -- Kings are one thing, but the people of Kahndaq have had their fill of butchers. Killing me would make him look weak, so he’ll try to get inside my head.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean for a second that the English author falls into the trap of having Bruce Wayne unconvincingly defeat “Shazadam” through uncharacteristic magic use or manipulative mind games. Quite the opposite in fact, as an overly confident Dark Knight is proficiently pencilled by Amancay Nahuelpan still having to fight for his very life against the formidable villain’s ‘human’ alter-ego, following the Caped Crusader’s realisation that Black Adam is actually a master of the immortal martial arts discipline Dhritishastra.

Rounding off this comic’s quartet of adventures is Dan Watters’ short story “On His Worst Nights”, which dips its toe into the murky waters of Batman’s frustration-fuelled hatred for the Riddler and the criminal’s canny conundrums. Intriguingly penned to surprisingly show just how many steps ahead of his arch-nemesis Edward Nygma can occasionally be, courtesy of the green-costumed cad actually narrating the plot, admirers of the World’s Greatest Detective should still enjoy this depiction of the costumed crime-fighter’s remorseless groundwork to ascertain just how his fiendish foe managed to escape custody once again.

In addition, Riley Rossmo provides some excellent layouts which genuinely go a long way to help sell the Dark Knight’s mounting anger as his enquiries with the likes of the Penguin and Catwoman prove fruitless. The vigilante’s attack upon Oswald Cobblepot in the Iceberg Lounge is particularly pulse-pounding. Although, it is probably the Canadian creator’s panel showing a raging Batman shouting up into the night sky upon discovering his puzzle-obsessed prey has already ‘flown the coop’ that is the artistic highlight of this particular parable.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #17 by Jim Cheung & Jay David Ramos

Batman: Urban Legends #17 [Part One] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 17, September 2022

Described by “DC Comics” as “a blockbuster issue”, Ryan Cady’s script for “Cold Shoulders” arguably appears to live up to the Burbank-based publisher’s boast by providing this anthology book with a fantastically fast-paced opening yarn featuring Batman and the Flash. However, whilst it is undoubtedly the “Scarlet Speedster” who injects this twenty-page tale with much of its mesmerising momentum. It is perhaps the plot’s focus on Captain Cold questioning just how evil he is willing to be when compared to the murderous machinations of his partner-in-crime, Mister Freeze, which is the highlight of the adventure.

Similarly as sensational is the story’s artwork by Gleb Melnikov, Scott Hanna and Luis Guerrero. The creative team’s depiction of events as respective penciller, inker and colorist genuinely adds to the ever-increasing sense of peril as Barry Allen feverishly attempts to run rings around Gotham in an effort to locate Victor Fries’ secret hideout. Indeed, a lot of the wide-eyed youth’s anguish and sense of desperation to both thwart the villains’ deadly plan, as well as live up to the Dark Knight’s high expectations, are projected through the character’s well-drawn facial expressions and body moments, rather than what Central City’s protector says.

Likewise, the impetus quickly established by Joey Esposito’s excellent “The Sea Beyond” doesn’t let up until Bruce Wayne’s deep sea mission to identify the mysterious source of some catastrophic seismic activity has been completed. Sure, the author’s decision to pen Mera as a debatably dislikeable foil to Aquaman’s good manners and courteousness may well remind many a Silver Age bibliophile of Stan Lee’s writing for the anti-hero, Namor the Sub-Mariner. But her overzealous, sarcastic rants that the Caped Crusader only ‘rules’ on land because her beloved King permits it can easily be forgiven once the three super-heroes enter the ocean; “You’re not listening, Batman! We know the cause. That’s why we’re here. With you. Show him, Arthur.” 

Serg Acuna and Alex Guimaraes also add an incredible amount of energy to this narrative’s telling, courtesy of some truly sumptuous underwater illustrations which genuinely help sell just how far down under the surface the action is taking place. The sheer physical power of the spiralling currents at play are incredibly well sketched, as is this chronicle’s final splash page, depicting the World’s Greatest Detective riding home on the back of a grim-looking Killer Whale.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #17 by Jim Cheung & Jay David Ramos

Batman: Urban Legends #20 [Part Two] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 20, December 2022

Essentially comprising of a story-long argument between Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, Nadia Shammas’ distinctly feisty “My Son” certainly maintains this anthology book’s atmosphere of adrenalin-fuelled action. But whilst there’s nothing wrong with witnessing an unmasked Dark Knight patiently fend off his angry former lover with a series of feints and parries, the entire tale, strangely set at the bottom of the stairs leading up to an unconscious Damian’s sickbed in Wayne Manor, is debatably fairly frustratingly contrived.

True, the female master assassin is the daughter of the super villainous Demon's Head, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to this publication’s readers that she can enter the billionaire’s home by simply tunnelling straight through a brick wall with some sort of acidic smoke device. However, some bibliophiles may find the ease with which proficient penciller Jahnoy Lindsay illustrates her rather dramatically penetrating the mansion a bit disconcerting considering its state-of-art security measures. In addition, the entire fracas is apparently due to Nightwing failing to check his explosive equipment before conducting a routine evening patrol – something which seems rather incredulous considering the fastidiousness of Dick Grayson’s long-time mentor and the former Teen Titan’s usual attention to such details.

Arguably much more intriguing is “The Murder Club” by Joey Esposito, which rather neatly dangles the audience along with its suggestion of a mysterious cult murdering Gotham City’s super-rich in a terrifyingly gruesome way; “Gradual rotting of the flesh, then sudden violent psychosis until the body gives out.” Indeed, Batman’s investigation into the fifth such killing “in as many months” has all the hallmarks of being a classic crime thriller involving the World’s Greatest Detective, especially as this four-parter’s opening instalment features the Caped Crusader confronting his arch-nemesis the Penguin. Unnervingly however, the author then completely wrong-foots everybody by revealing the shock identities of a couple who initially appear destined to be the contagion’s next victims, with a genuine, jaw-dropping cliff-hanger.

Also adding some palpable edge to this twenty-one-page plot is Vasco Georgiev, whose ability to capture all the grotesque physicality of Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot alone makes this adventure well worth perusing. Coupled with Alex Guimaraes' colours, the Swiss provides some incredibly atmospheric layouts to this fable, not least of which is its appropriately dark, heavily shadowed opening inside the Gotham City Medical Examiner's Office.

Writers: Nadia Shammas and Joey Esposito, and Artists: Jahnoy Lindsay and Vasco Georgiev

Batman: Urban Legends #20 [Part One] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 20, December 2022

Hooking its readers straight from the start with a thrilling trip “to the world of Batman, monster hunter”, this particular anthology comic book must surely have pleased any fans of “DC Comics” alternative reality-based publication imprint “Elseworlds”. In fact, considering Jim Zub’s storyline for “Castle Arkham” arguably contains the perfect mix of medieval horror, dedicated detective work and pulse-pounding pugilism, it’s doubtful any perusing bibliophile would have been able to put Issue Twenty of “Batman: Urban Legends” back down until they’d at least witnessed Bruce Wayne and Julia Pennyworth successfully thwart Kirkland Langstrom’s misguided attempt to rule Gotham as a terrifying demonic bat-creature.

Much of this mesmerising spell is indisputably due to the Canadian author penning an incredibly believable and intriguing feudal world of swashbuckling swordplay and mean-spirited politics. However, enormous credit must also be given to Max Dunbar’s simply sumptuous layouts, with the illustrator pencilling some seriously disconcerting ghouls who increase their grinning numbers through a bloody sacrificial ritual, as well as an awesome-looking finale set high above the dark metropolis’ rooftops; “In the city square, the people celebrate good harvest and good fortune… Until their revelry crumbles into unspeakable fear.”

Equally as enjoyable, though significantly shorter than this periodical’s opening yarn, is Chris Burnham’s “epic Alfred saga” which quite marvellously manages to spotlight the loyal butler’s ability to outthink his opponents even when they are both numerous and dangerously fanatical about their diabolical cause. Absolutely vibrant in its Lovecraftian imagery, courtesy of the narrative’s fixation upon the Assyrian fish deity, Dagon, this ten-pager’s plot probably wrong-footed a fair few in its audience by rather cleverly having the decapitated god’s scales actually turn out to be much more than just ancient rigid skin plates.

Furthermore, the Connecticut-born artist also provides “Out Of The Frying Pan” with plenty of compelling visualisations, not least of which is the imaginative underwater museum display dedicated to Dagon’s long-dead corpse. Coupled with the American’s dynamic drawings of two competing cult factions, including amphibian-headed rubber masks plus obligatory red robes, and most readers will easily get caught up in the frantic post-ritual fight once the first angry punch is thrown.

Writers: Jim Zub and Chris Burnham, and Artists: Max Dunbar and Chris Burnham