Monday, July 03, 2023

Apparently that hooded guy doesn't see sex, just logos.

This is another Batman annual, another Legends of the Dead Earth, and another of both drawn by Vince Giarrano! This 'Batman' is similar in design to his other one, except this time we've got a buxom, axe-swinging executioner...I'm on-board! From 1996, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #6, "Executioner" Written by Alan Grant, plot by Barry Kitson and Alan Grant, art by Vince Giarrano.
On a distant world, the descendants of the survivors of a crashed ship have built a medieval society; complete with a kingly commissioner, the "church of fear," and state-sponsored executions carried out by the Batman, a title passed down through the Kane family line. Kathy takes up the mantle sooner than expected, though, after her father, the current Batman, kills himself; believing he had killed an innocent man. And maybe not only one...Kathy becomes Batwoman, starts tracking down the alibi of the last executed prisoner, and unravels a conspiracy spanning generations.
There are nods to other characters here and there, but while there is a Joker-like midget court jester, society and tradition are largely the villains here. (The jester seems like he's going to turn to villainy immediately, if not sooner.) Kathy wins out, and tells the people the "House of the Bat" will never kill again; ending the death penalty which had been used for years to keep the people in line. She kind of knows they'll probably backslide a bit, but was ready to fight that too. 

Another good one of these! Still feel like there's a bunch I haven't seen, or at least blogged yet...Y'know, I think I've bought the Impulse one twice lately, and it wasn't great either time, even with Mike Parobeck art? Like the only character trait of the old Impulse that carried on was brattiness.

2 comments:

Mr. Morbid's House Of Fun said...

Oh yeah, he's DEFINITELY turning evil very quickly.

You know, and this is probably just me seeing as how his work got better over time, especially his non-comic art, but I swear the art here by Giarrano feels like a downgrade from his '94 art on Manhunter. I don't know if he was rushed for time or what on this one, but yeah, just doesn't look like up to snuff.

I will say the overall design & look of Kathy looks straight out of the Heavy Metal magazine.

H said...

Yeah, I'm not a fan of most of the Legends of the Dead Earth annuals- the DC 1 Million tie-ins did it better (the main series, not so much). Checking the tag, it looks like you've covered quite a few already. The only other one I can recommend that you haven't covered is the Shadow of the Bat annual, also by Alan Grant.