There
are few more iconic or compelling images than the Grim Reaper. Dating back to
the fifteenth century, the cloaked skeleton, often wearing a devilish grin,
automatically brings to mind death in general and graveyards and all the
trappings that go along with them in a larger sense.
The
cover of Batman #267 (1975) uses the
hooded personification of death to spectacular effect. The fact that the Reaper
is larger than Batman is not only striking but also works on a metaphorical
level. He is a giant that must be slain, and the Dark Knight may have to go into
battle less well-equipped than his foe. The glowing invitation, being hurled
like a shuriken, suggests the immediacy of the situation, the extreme danger,
and the fact that Batman will have to be at the very top of his game to avoid a
horrible fate. (Not bad for a “funny-book,” huh?)
This
tale, “Invitation to a Murder,” is penned by David V. Reed, chronicler of many
of Batman’s Bronze-Age adventures. Having read quite a few of his stories, I
had a pretty good idea of what to expect from this one. Opinions of Reed’s
stories vary wildly, but the one thing I’m sure everyone can agree on is that
he spins yarns that stretch the Caped Crusader’s detective skills to the limit.
His stories are usually fairly implausible, and Batman’s ability to
successfully close a case often relies heavily on chance, but they’re always entertaining
and intriguing.
Our
tale opens with Commissioner Gordon’s receiving a mysterious glowing letter. It
is, strangely enough, an invitation to a robbery at the Jewelers’ Exchange
Building at midnight. Gordon, of course, immediately summons Batman. The glow,
the Caped Crusader deduces, is attributable to a chemical the envelope has been
soaked in, but it fails to elucidate the situation any. Gordon orders the
building surrounded, but at the stroke of midnight the edifice bursts into
flames.
Fire-fighters
rush to the scene, and when Batman scales the building to investigate, he finds
them in the midst of a heist. Bursting through a window, the Dark Knight sets about
apprehending the ersatz firemen but succumbs to smoke sprayed on him by one of
the perpetrators, and they make a clean getaway.
The
following night, Gordon receives another note. This one is an invitation to the
airport to witness the landing of an experimental aircraft, after a
thirty-three-hour flight around the globe. As soon as the plane touches down, a
member of the service crew holds the pilot and copilot at gunpoint, demanding
that they take the craft back into the air so he can hold them for a huge
ransom. Batman, having boarded during a refueling stop, subdues two of the hijackers,
but the third steals a parachute and jumps from the plane.
Based
on the clues he’s collected, and with Alfred’s help, Batman works out the criminal
mastermind’s identity: a man known as Django (no, not the “unchained” one). When
the Caped Crusader visits police headquarters to apprise Gordon of his conclusions,
the commissioner hands him another luminescent invitation, this one to a rock
festival at Gotham Palace, where the attendees will witness Batman’s execution.
The
Dark Knight shows up at the venue as Bruce Wayne and does a bit of schmoozing
before donning his costume. Watching the concert from the catwalk, he quickly
recognizes the disguised Django, based on his actions, and follows him off the
stage. Confronted, he initially denies everything but drops the charade when
Batman informs him that he has deactivated the explosive devices that he
attached to the invitations of Waxey Kruger and Big Jim Cody, Gotham’s two top
mobsters, who had attended the event to see the Batman expire.
Django
tears off his mask, holding aloft a pair of finger cymbals, which he claims
will detonate a similar device that he planted on Batman during the fight in
the burning building. He commands the Caped Crusader to remove his cowl so that
he can learn his identity before he kills him but is shocked to see his own face
underneath. (This mirrors a scene in Detective
Comics #355, “Hate of the Hooded Hangman,” where the titular Hangman
similarly finds his own visage when he removes Batman’s mask.) Django clicks the cymbals together, but
nothing happens, as Batman had defused the device a couple of nights before. Realizing
he has been caught, he makes once last attempt at escape but finds himself no
match for the Batman.
His
plan, it turns out, was to eliminate Batman, Kruger, and Cody all at one time
so he could take over Gotham’s criminal underworld. With everything wrapped up,
Gordon asks Batman how Django managed to plant the invitations, and Batman is
forced to admit that he’s still trying to work that part out.
The
art chores for this story are handled by Ernie Chan and Dick Giordano. Both are talented
artists, certainly, but I’m not sure that they work particularly well together,
as their styles vary greatly. The art manages to tell the story effectively, and
there are a few really nice panels, but there is nothing eye-popping here. Readers
seeking dazzling illustrations should look elsewhere.
I
appreciate the fact that Reed manages to cover all the bases, as it were,
explaining how Batman worked out the perpetrator’s identity and how he managed
to deduce the significance of clues. Batman is frequently called the “World’s
Greatest Detective,” and Reed’s stories certainly provide credence to his right
to the title. Coincidence does play a part, but it’s up to Batman to determine
how everything fits together.
Overall,
a good issue.
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