Polite Dissent

Being a history buff, I enjoyed reading H’s review of Batman Family #1 so much, I just had to track down my own copy. Batgirl (the original — no wait, the second if you count Bette Kane’s Bat-Girl) and Robin (the original) against Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold! Perfect — I had to read this. So thanks to e-Bay, I now am the proud possesor of an inexpensive copy of the issue in question.

First impression: I like the Mike Grell artwork. He has always been a favorite of mine – I have the entire run of Warlord, and his Green Arrow was the definitive one. Here his art is good, not as polished as he is on later books, but still good. He does seem to have an issue with drawing bizarrely triangular anatomy on Barbara, though.

The story is a riot and needs to be read to be believed. The Devil has all the denizens of Hell, and the best villain he can come up with is Benedict Arnold? Sure, it was the Bicentennial, but I didn’t think the Devil would have the Spirit of ’76. (Now that’s a bad movie. Anyone else see David Cassidy and Olivia d’Abo in The Spirit of ’76? Ugh.)

As can be expected, the story is a mish-mash of historical accuracy. Barbara’s retelling of the history of Benedict Arnold left out most of the reasons he turned traitor, such as repeated politically-based court martials, serious debt, and a socially ambitious Loyalist wife. I expected better from a librarian turned Congresswoman. Admittedly, she was filming a public service announcement, so she’d be lucky if anyone actually watched it.

The anachronisms were thick. I was struck by Arnold’s understanding of modern (well, modern in 1976) media. He not only knows what cameras and film are, but knows what the “airwaves” are. They get TV down in Hell now? Plus, how did he know who Stonewall Jackson was?

At the battle of Saratoga, Arnold suffered a serious injury in his left leg, leaving him lame. Yet he’s walking and running fine in this comic. I’m sure the Devil fixed him right up, but I would have asked him to do something about that pot belly as well.

Don’t get me wrong: despite all my nit-picking, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The premise alone is worth the price of admission.

The rest of the stories are a mixed bag. The Alfred story was a lightweight one from back in the days when he was more of a bumbling character. I prefer him the clever, quiet and somewhat condescending character he is now.

I can’t add much to H’s critique of the Commissioner Gordon story except to say that Robin’s dialogue is particularly painful. Remember that scene in Better Off Dead where Lane’s father is trying to talk “hip” to him? It’s like that, but even worse. Adults should not try to write trendy teenage dialogue. Period.

I enjoyed the Man-Bat story. I had never read it before, and always liked the character. Neal Adams and Dick Giordano present us with some beautiful and appropriately moody art. In terms of the story, I did find it interesting that Batman welcomed the new “hero” with open arms, as opposed to his “get the hell out of my Gotham” attitude nowadays.