BATMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?

Over two decades ago, when DC was preparing the end the original run of Superman comics and re-launch the series beginning with a new #1 issue, legendary comic writer Alan Moore was approached to write the “wrap-up” of the series. That two-part comic, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? has become one of the most well-loved and well-known Superman comics ever published. Though considered by many as non-canonical, that story did bring an end to the Silver Age of Superman, much to the chagrin of comic fans around the world. Now fast forward two decades. Instead of Superman, DC decided to “kill” it’s other tent pole superhero, Batman. Seeming to have died towards the end of the “Final Crisis” series, DC approached Neil Gaiman to write a story to sum up the life and legend of Batman. Using Moore’s famous story as inspiration, Gaiman wrote BATMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?

Now, I have to admit, I never liked Batman as much as I liked Superman and the Green Lantern. For many, Batman is a character they love because Gotham City is more like the real world than Metropolis and Batman is just an ordinary human with no super abilities. It’s for those very reasons, that I like Batman a little less that the Man of Steel or Hal Jordan. Superheroes should be super. That’s what makes them different. Still, even though he’s not my favorite, I still like Batman and do find him the most relatable of the major DC heroes. In WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? Bruce Wayne cannot be seen by people, but it becomes clear to him he is at his own funeral. Friends, comrades, and enemies all appear for the service. One by one they get up to tell their own stories about Batman & Bruce Wayne. None of the stories are the same. It’s not possible for most of these stories to be true. In fact, problem none of them actually happen. Yet, each of them provides a glimpse into the Caped Crusader and how he was viewed by allies, foes, and readers alike through a long and storied history.

For Batman fans, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? is a love letter. It’s filled with allusions to famous Batman battles, minor villains, and other Batman minutia that Batman fans or other comic book geeks will enjoy discovering. The artwork by Andy Kubert is gorgeous. It captures the essence of Batman; the shadowing of a dark and dreary world ripped from crime stories and film noir, yet touched and lighted by the elegance of the glow like that from the screen of an old cinema showing a classic Hollywood movie. It is danger seeped in nostalgia, longing, and lost innocence.

Despite the original idea and the beautiful artwork, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? is not a story that will appeal to many people. It’s very much tied into what is currently happening in the DC universe, e.g. the events of FINAL CRISIS and the current BLACKEST NIGHT storyline. Therefore, those who just have a general knowledge of Batman and the DC universe might be confused. Also, the story has a rather ambiguous ending. No one is for sure what is going to happen with Batman, but unlike the Silver Age Superman stories that came to an end with WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?, WHATEVE HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? is not the final Batman story.

Included with this Deluxe edition, are three other Batman comic Gaiman wrote: a Black and White story (where DC characters interact in the green room before appearing in their panels); a Poison Ivy story; and a Joker story.

Review: Fables #12: The Dark Ages

Title: Fables #12: The Dark Ages
Author: Bill Willingham
Illustrators: Mark Buckingham, Peter Gross, Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn
Genre: Graphic Novel, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Published: August 2009
Collects Issues: 76 - 82
Pages: 192
Rating: 9 / 10
Challenges: Graphic Novels Challenge, A to Z Reading Challenge
Awards: Fables has won 12 Eisner Awards so far

Synopsis (from the back cover):

The great war between Fabletown and the mighty empire of the Adversary is over, and the victorious free Fables have brought their defeated enemy back from the Homelands to join them in exile. Their celebrations, however, are destined to be short-lived. As it turns out, not even beloved storybook heroes can escape the law of unintended consequences. In the post-war chaos of the Adversary's former realm, a terrible force is about to be unleashed - an evil that threatens not just Fabletown but the entire mundane world.

My review: I was a bit worried about how Willingham et al would keep the Fables story going after ending the big bad war in War and Pieces. My fears turned out to be completely unjustified, as this was an amazing (albeit sad) book and perfectly set up the next great arc in the Fables saga.

Fair warning: SPOILERS to follow. I'll try not to give away the big ones, though.

The book opens with Geppetto being escorted around Fabletown by Pinocchio, who's trying to get him adjusted to life after ruling the Empire. Not everyone is happy with the newest Fabletown resident, but I thought it was interesting to hear Geppetto's side of the story. He believed he was acting for the greater good, so sacrificing a few thousand lives was worth it, because in the long run he saved billions, or so he claims... Now that the Fables have taken him out of power, he believes the other worlds will suffer even more.

Geppetto's warnings seem to have merit, though, as back in a recently-freed-from-the-Emperor-land a pair of marauders unknowingly release a very powerful new enemy. This new adversary wants revenge on the Fables for taking away his magic and using it themselves, and he means business. The Fables are forced to evacuate The Woodland and move upstate to the Farm after the magic spells holding their community together begin to crumble. Baba Yaga comes back, and although she didn't get to do much in this book I'm curious to see what havoc she'll wreck in the next one. Even Frau Totenkinder is scared!

The main purpose of this book seemed to be setting up the new big bad and the next event in the Fables series: The Great Fables Crossover (with Jack of Fables, an offshoot of this series that I also really enjoy). The other big part of the story was the death of a character (one of my personal favorites) that brought up questions of what happens to the Fables when they die. We've seen some come back (there are always three little pigs, for example, and Snow White managed to survive a gunshot to the head), so I'm hoping this character will reappear at some point, too. But it was still an emotional arc and really made me question just how great a surgeon Dr. Swineheart is. He seemed like a bit of a pompous jerk, actually, but that could've just been me projecting because of the way he was treating said beloved character.

There was also a smaller mini-story that dealt with Mowgli returning to a jungle world with Bigby's brothers that was a bit more light-hearted and I nice diversion from the darkness in the rest of the book. Oh, and Flycatcher's back! That was one of my grumbles with volume 11, so it was nice to have him back...even if he is still clueless about his relationship with Red Riding Hood.

Also posted at casual dread.