I was imagining this came up more often in the old team-up books: when the guest-starring hero's problem is a big enough deal that it should become the main character's main quest as well. What's the point in worrying about crime if there are vampires afoot? Maybe Batman can only be bothered about criminal vampires, as in today's book! From 1983, the Brave and the Bold #195, "Night of Blood!" Written by Mike W. Barr, art by Jim Aparo.
Batman's team-up this month was with Andrew Bennett, of the I...Vampire feature from House of Mystery, which ran on and off from 1981-83. Bennett was some 400 years old, and had spent a good chunk of that time trying to stop his former lover Mary, whom he had turned into a vampire, but she had gone a bit overboard with it. She had called herself the Queen of Blood, and had a whole conspiracy called the Blood-Red Moon going, doing the typical vampire cabal stuff. With vampires both real and fake moving into Gotham, and a mobster's daughter possibly dying of a vampire's bite, Batman works with both the mobster and Bennett pretty readily; much more so than Batman's usual "my city" of recent years. It's also a Batman who readily accepts hey, there are vampires; having encountered them elsewhere recently. And he's able to use the cross against them, which would preclude Batman being an atheist.
Bennett proves he's a good guy by taking a silver bullet for Batman; and Batman returns the favor by providing a blood donation for his surgery: apparently you don't have to type it for vampires, just give them an IV and dump blood in. Bats says he'll have to convince Commissioner Gordon to have the "vampire murder" victims staked, which at certain points in DC and Marvel's history seems like it should just be standard operating procedure. He also gives Bennett a friendly grin in the end, maybe just because he thinks him turning into a bat is cool. Even with unholy creatures of the night, this is a cheery, upbeat little comic; good for it.
Batman's probably still an atheist, but that won't keep him using traditional anti-vampire weapons like a crucifix though. And yeah, you're right. This seems like a way more cheery story than it should be. Needs more Batman grumbly for Bennett to get the hell out of his city.
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