Batman #453 (Late August 1990)

Back in March of 2024, I looked at Batman #452 (Early August 1990), the first part of the Dark Knight, Dark City storyline. Back in 1764, Gotham City was just a mere township. There, a man named Jacob Stockman participated in a ceremony with several other men, including future President Thomas Jefferson. This ceremony involved sacrificing a young woman in an attempt to summon a purportedly bat-like demon called Barbatos. The ceremony was botched. Centuries passed. In the then-modern Gotham City of 1990, strange crimes occurred. A woman dressed as a sphinx jumps off a building. Four babies are kidnapped by the Riddler, who seems to have become much more bloodthirsty than in the past. Batman managed to save one baby, but his quest is only a quarter complete. Where do we go from here? Let's find out in Batman #453!

The cover is a piece.

The story begins with Batman encountering a zombie.

Page 31, Panel 1

It's the DC Universe, Batman encountering a zombie is very plausible. You may want to destroy that thing quick, Bats. One zombie can become a lot of zombies really quick, which is demonstrated by the Dark Knight being attacked by, well...a bunch of zombies. Batman hits one, who then groans. But the groan is not your typical zombie groan, leading the Caped Crusader to wonder if these zombies are real, or just people in costumes. Again, DC Universe, either explanation is plausible.

(I'm just saying)

In a white non-descript van parked near the cemetery, the Riddler is watching this with glee with a couple of his henchmen. One notes the supervillain is acting crazier and is more bloodthirsty than usual. The other wonders if he's having a mid-life crisis. I don't blame him for wondering that. Fighting these zombies allows Batman to discover that some of them are advanced animatronics. One he takes down is no robot, or actual undead, but a man named Jimmy in a costume and makeup. Riddler knows that Batman will try to interrogate Jimmy, so he uses a hidden explosive in the makeup on Jimmy's neck to silence him.

Page 35, Panel 7

One of the henchmen (I'm calling him Ted) is shocked by this, but Riddler just tells him to shut up and drive away, by gunpoint.

 Batman gives chase. As they drive away, Ted the henchman notes that the Riddler's been acting crazy ever since he found some old book. The Riddler counters that he's never seen things clearer before now. It's like he has some inner voice guiding him, taking him somewhere...

But that will have to be tabled for now. Batman catches up to the van. The van stops, knocking the Dark Knight off. Ted plans to run the Dark Knight over, but Riddler is suddenly like "NOOOOOOOO" and grabs the wheel, causing the van to swerve away. Batman manages to dodge, but this says a lot to him. The Riddler wants him to live. The Riddler needs Batman alive and presumably in one piece. But why?

That's what Batman is wondering. He returns to the cemetery and finds that indeed, these zombies were all animatronics. The Riddler has indeed seemingly become more of a monster. Batman finds the second abducted baby, thankfully safe and sound.

The Caped Crusader then finds another clue, this one carved on a tombstone.

You'll find another little tot, at the 25th who was shot.

We then get a flashback in the form of more of Jacob Stockman's confessions (from the last issue). According to him, he and the rest of his collaborators in demon-summoning fled that basement, trapping the daemon they possibly summoned and the sacrifice they intended to make thanks to boarding up the door. None of them ever returned to that temple. Stockman sold his farm and fled to Canada. He doesn't know the fates of all his fellow summoners. He does know that one killed themselves, a second died in Saratoga (Presumably a reference to the battles, as this summoning happened in 1764, and those battles were fought in 1777), and as for Thomas Jefferson, well...that's obvious. 

The farm would be built over and over again, the temple where the ceremony fading into history. Until now, it seems.

Batman returns to Wayne Manor, his mind puzzling over the Riddler's latest...riddle. He relaxes in a chair and lets himself drift off to the land of sleep. He needs it, considering the day he's had.

Bruce then starts having dreams. Dreams about the death of his parents, the event that transformed Bruce's life and set him on the path to becoming the Batman. It's in the nightmare that gives Bruce his answer. You see, the "25th who was shot"? That's a reference to William McKinley. He was the 25th President of the United States, from 1897 to 1901. He was shot and died from the gangrene thanks to the wounds ending up infected.

Batman has played the events of his parents' death in his mind again and again over the years. Again and again and again and again and again and again...

Right, right. Basically, it's gotten to the point where he remembers every detail of that night. And one of those details was that Bruce and his parents passed through McKinley Street on their way to what would become Crime Alley. A frightening possibility comes to the mind of the World's Greatest Detective: that Riddler knows Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same man.

Elsewhere, Riddler and his boys are preparing some more traps for the Batman. Despite that, the detective has work to do! As the sun rises, Bruce swings towards a bar on McKinley. And it's there, a nasty surprise is waiting for him.

Page 46, Panel 4

The van releases some very angry fighting dogs. The dogs attack the people in the bar. One of the bar patrons is an off-duty GCPD officer, and he shoots one of the dogs. One of the dogs tries to attack Batman, and the Dark Knight is forced to stab it in the heart with a knife. The Dark Knight notices that the bartender is running away. He finds it odd. Why did he give Batman the knife, and why is he running away. The off-duty cop assures Bats that he has the bar covered. With that, the Caped Crusader heads out after the van. He catches up to it, revealing it was rigged with an auto-driving device. 

The Riddler taunts the Dark Knight Detective over a radio, saying that a baby's life is at stake. He gives Batman an easy riddle. 

I'm just below Hamilton East on Wright. I take the corner on Fourth.

He tells Batman to hurry up, as he gave the baby a ping-pong ball, and babies love putting things in their mouths. That's a normal thing for babies to do, as putting things in their mouths helps babies learn about different tastes and textures. You can learn more here.

Anyway, Batman finds the "just below" part a bit puzzling. What did he mean by that? Is the Riddler being literal, or is it wordplay? The Caped Crusader arrives, then realizes the Riddler may mean the sewers. He hears what sounds like a baby choking, and then a BLINDING LIGHT!

The Riddler's henchmen start beating on Bats, but he quickly gets back his bearings and fights back. The mad puzzle-spreader is like "alright, that's enough". Thankfully, the Dark Knight Detective's guess was dead on.

Page 51, Panel 6

Batman races to the crib. He can deal with his crazed foe later; the baby is more important. There's no time to get the baby to a hospital. Batman tries to pat the baby to get them to spit up the ball, but it's in too deep. And if it's not dislodged in two minutes, the little tyke will choke to death.

Our man's got no choice. He has to perform a tracheotomy. Batman knows how to do one (Because he's Batman. He likely also knows how to do brain surgery), but there's not a lot of time, he's presumably a bit panicked, and also...baby throats are very small. It's very easy to botch this and accidentally kill the little tyke. But there's no options left. The story ends with our man holding up a scalpel from his belt, assuring himself he knows how to do it. 

I enjoyed this comic. Dark Knight, Dark City is an underrated storyline, one I think deserves a lot more shout-out and discussion. The idea that Gotham has a dark supernatural taint to it that is one of the reasons why the city seems to be so corrupt and causing insanity is an intriguing one. Yes, I can understand why some would call it a dumb and/or hokey. However, I look at it like this. This is the DC Universe. Batman exists in the same world as Superman. Wonder Woman. Zatanna. It is plausible that Gotham itself has a slight demonic influence. Of course, you don't need to use that to explain all the crime and corruption in Gotham, but I can imagine that not helping things much. And that's scary.

And the cliffhanger is terrifying. Batman is a competent, capable man, but he's still a man. And as I said earlier, it is so easy to botch a tracheotomy, especially on a baby. And considering the state Batman is presumably in at this point: tired, scared...yeah. You really want to read the next issue, hoping that Batman can save this kid. 

I also really love the art in this story. It's detailed, expressive, it was a joy to look at.  

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City.

Text Play: Pokemon Xenoverse #41

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw region! This is entry number 41 in my Text Play of Pokémon Xenoverse!

Now, as is tradition, I wish to warn you that I will be spoiling this game. 

As such, I highly recommend that you play the game for yourself before reading this Text Play. You can do so here. Now with that out of the way, let's do this!

Last time, we started making our way through the Cluster Jungle, looking for the Cardinal of Dorado Village. Our journey led us to this crossroads right here.

If we go to the left, we end up having to face this tribesman.

Yeah, that guy. He thinks we're out to steal his people's treasures. 

He can have his treasures. They're likely just beads or something.

(Sentinel) Xochi
1st Pokemon: Carnivine (Lv. 42) - Defeated by Harrowk.
2nd Pokemon: Hystearic (Lv. 44) - Defeated by Trishout.

After we beat him, he then faints, but his dialogue implies that there is something strange going on with him. You know, that tribesman had glowing tattoos on him. Maybe those having something to do with it? 

If we keep going downwards, we'll find ourselves in this big grass patch.

What on Earth is this grass growing in?! Does the soil here have steroids in it or something?! How does grass get this big?!

In other news: hey, another merchant! Been a while since we saw one of those! There's also an Item Box. It contains a Liechi Berry. There's also a bridge nearby with a big tree blocking it. Now in the past, that would be a problem. Not anymore!

Thank you Kaiserium H! The bridge turns out to be a pier.

I don't think we have anything to let us surf yet, and we can't fish here, so we're going to have to go backwards. It's not a complete loss, though. There's an Item Box here on the end of the pier, and it contains TM81 (X-Scissor). 

So, we back track to that first crossroads...

Yeah, that one. We'll also have to fight that tribesman in the screenshot. He reveals that he is intent on keeping intruders from reaching the Temple. Okay. Well, allow me to apologize to you for the thrashing I am about to give you, pally.

(Sentinel) Ichtaka
1st Pokemon: Exeggcute (Lv. 40) - Defeated by Harrowk.
2nd Pokemon: Claydol (Lv. 42) - Defeated by Pelipper.
3rd Pokemon: Scyther (Lv. 42) - Defeated by Trishout.

And like the others, Ichtaka faints. However, before he goes down, he says that he is returning the power his "master" gave him. Yeah, there is something funny going on here. Just after we beat this man, we find another crossroads.

Since we're already heading to the right, we might as well continue on. If we do, we end up underneath this rotted tree trunk, our way blocked by another tree.

A little application of Kaiserium H fixes that issue. We end up in this big ol' grass patch. 

You can catch some Pokemon here if you'd like. If we go upwards from here, we end up on this path.

The tribesman here changes the direction he faces every so often, so it is possible to avoid him if you move carefully. But if you want to battle him to get some extra XP and money, you can. It's fine.

(Sentinel) Xolotl
1st Pokemon: Sigilyph (Lv. 43) - Defeated by Harrowk.
2nd Pokemon: Cacturne (Lv. 43) - Defeated by Trishout.

And like the other Sentinels we battled here, he faints when we beat him. Yeah, there's definitely sometehing going on here. But there is nothing we can do about that right now. If we want to solve this mystery, we'll just have to go deeper into the jungle. Which we can do by going on this bridge here.

Once we cross it, we go onto another crossroads.

We can go upwards, or to the right. Let's go to the right. If we go to the right, we go through a grass patch where you can add some wild Pokemon to your collection if you wish. I was so happy when I caught a Totodile here.

If we go through the grass patch, we end up at a bridge that goes downwards, which takes is up to this little clearing. 

where there we can encounter and battle another Sentinel: Tenoch.

(Sentinel) Tenoch
1st Pokemon: Dartrix (Lv. 41) - Defeated by Trishout
2nd Pokemon: Yanmega (Lv.43) - Defeated by Trishout 

Before he faints, he warns that nature will take care of us. I think we're being warned of something out here in the jungle. And if movies taught me anything, whatever is being warned about in the jungle is never anything good.

Ah, well. If we continue going downwards, we'll end up here.

Yeah, that Item Box is out of reach at the moment. You can't cut down those trees or move those rocks. Why put an Item Box there if it can't be reached?! 

Aw, well. Let's just keep going. If we keep going down and then to the right, we'll end up here.

These torches seem to indicate we're going somewhere important. Maybe the Cardinal of this place does rituals here. Only one way to find out. We keep going to the right, we end up seeing a small rectangular lake. Unfortunately, you cannot fish in it.

The path goes upwards, and it takes to this gate, guarded by a pair of Sentinels.

We're goign to have to go through them to get through that gate, huh? Alright then. Let's do this.

If we talk to them, they just say "No Crossing" to us. No battle, nothing. Well, that was anti-climatic. We may as well backtrack to that one crossway. 

Yeah, that one. Let's try going upwards, shall we? If we do, we end up here.

Inside the Item Box is an Occa Berry. This berry is a handy item for a Grass or Steel-type Pokemon because if it's hit with a Fire-type attack, it will reduce the damage. Fire-type attacks are super effective against them, if you didn't get it.

Up above the grassy area is another lake. And no, you can't fish in it. Really? This is a lake in a jungle, and there's nothing living in the water? 

That is so weird to me. You'd think that a jungle in a Pokémon world would have a variety of species in the water. Anyway, we go to the left, and we end up here.

The Item Box in that little grassy area across the bridge contains a Bulb. If a Pokemon that consumes this is hit by a Water-type move, the Pokemon's Special Attack stat will get a boost. It's a one-use item, so use it carefully. If we want to keep on going, we'll have to battle the Sentinel in the screenshot. His name is Zuma, and he warns us we are dangerously close to our destination. Oh, finally. Feels like we've been here forever.

As such, he intends to stop us. Yeah, good luck with that, buddy.

(Sentinel) Zuma
1st Pokemon: Leafeon (Lv. 45) - Defeated by Harrowk.

It's kind of hilarious that a guard this close to our destination would only have one Pokemon to drive off intruders. I kind of imagined that he'd have at least five Pokemon, if not a full team of six. Or considerably more, keeping in mind this isn't a sanctioned match in a Pokemon League or Gym. Whatever. Just after we beat Zuma, we end up here.

This is likely it. This is likely where we need to go. Take a breath, and steel yourself. It's time.

Once we pass through this gate, we walk through a path that is lined with these...weird statues.

I have no idea what those are supposed to be. Dragalisk, maybe? Anyway, I think this is where we'll have to stop for the month. Next time, we will continue our journey into the Cluster Jungle and maybe get a bead on the Cardinal. Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!

Pokemon Encountered:
(Cluster Jungle)
- Kecleon (encountered, didn't catch)
- Carnivine (encountered, didn't catch)
- Hystearic (encountered, didn't catch)
- Tropius (encountered, didn't catch)
- Totodile
- Arbok (encountered, didn't catch)
- Scyther (this thing was a nightmare to catch. I had to use Phantump's Leech Seed and a whole bunch of Great and Ultra balls to catch it!)

World Parrot Day

Potato Day

Lunar Remastered Collection Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

In 1992, the Japanese game studio Game Arts (alongside Studio Alex), developed and released the RPG Lunar: The Silver Star for the Sega CD. This game made use of the CD-ROM format to include voice acting, improved audio, and full motion video. It told the tale of Alex, a young boy who dreamed of being a hero like his idol Dyne.

No way, man! Swords are sharp!

Only in a fantasy RPG can you beat down a big dragon with a tiny sword.

I haven't played much of the Lunar games (I have one of them on my tablet), but this looks gorgeous. 

(wow)

Hey, buddy! You got a pair of angry fireballs following you! 🔥

🎵 Sailing, sailing, over the bounty main...🎵

Again, only in a fantasy RPG can you see a guy fighting monsters with dice. I bet the game makers were playing D&D when they came up with this idea.

Ooh, that'll hurt.

*wince)

A giant mechanical toy drummer is a unique idea for an RPG boss.

I like the idea of being able to choose between remastered and classic modea. If you played thsi game in the past, the classic mode may be how you want to play it for nostalgia. New players can use remastered. Win-win for everyone!

(Terminator thumbs up)

METEORA! METEORA! METEORA!

(Meteora)

World Otter Day

Today is World Otter Day!

What is World Otter Day, you may ask yourself? Well, World Otter Day is celebrated on the last Wednesday of May. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the importance of otters. 

Otters can be found almost all over the world, living in freshwater lakes and rivers. There are 13 known species of otters. They are semiaquatic animals that have webbed feet, dense fur, and flat tails to help them move around in the water. Most of the species of otters live in freshwater habitats, where they feed mainly on fish and frogs, but some will also eat birds.

Otters are also known to be thought of as playful animals, as they are often seen doing activities like playing with small rocks and waking waterslides. 

Because of their wide ranges, many cultures have folklore and mythology about otters. For example, in Norse myth, the dwarf Otr is said to often take the form of an otter. Some Native American cultures view otters as totem animals. In Japanese myth, otters are shapeshifting tricksters like the kitsune. There's also myths of otters taking the form of women to kill and eat men. Yeah, Japanese myth is some hardcore stuff, man. 

Otters are neat little creatures, so show love to one today. Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!

Memorial Day

 Today is Memorial Day.

Here in the United States, the last Monday in May is spent honoring those who had made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their life in service to this country.

Memorial Day as we know it had evolved from many ceremonies done to honor soldiers in the American Civil War. In 1882, the holiday got the familiar "Memorial Day" name over the previous "Decoration Day", but it wouldn't really grow in popularity until WWII. However, it would not be until 1967 that the American federal government law would declare "Memorial Day" be the official name. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved the holiday from May 30 to the late Monday of May, creating a three-day weekend.

On this day, like we have in various forms over the last century plus, we honor those who have given their lives for this country, and ensure they have not been forgotten. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Skull the Slayer #2 (November 1975)

All the way back in 2015, I looked at the very first issue of an obscure short-lived Marvel series: Skull the Slayer. I'm a big fan of obscure characters, and the concept of Skull I found really cool: a military man and three other people forced to survive in a lost land where time has no meaning, where aliens can battle dinosaurs, ninjas can encounter cyborgs. Such an idea is ripe for storytelling possibilities. Shame it didn't last very long. Personally, I think it was because the book never held down a creative team for more than an issue or two. But enough of that, we've seen how Jim Scully and his companions came to this lost land, as well as the origins of Scully himself. Where did they go from here? Let's find out in Skull the Slayer #2!

The cover is a Gil Kane and Tom Palmer piece. It's really cool, in my opinion. You got our man Skull engaging a dinosaur to save the fair Ann Reynolds, while he's being watched by an alien and some cavemen. It's the most entertaining thing they've seen all week. Skull's book also gets a new masthead logo. It's a spiffy logo, but I think I preferred the first one. Not because it was the first, but because I felt it fit Skull and the book better. Anyway, this cover is a bit deceiving, you'll see what I mean.

"Gods and Super-Gods"
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Penciler: Steve Gan
Inker: Steve Gan
Colorist: Michele Wolfman
Letterer: Tony San Jose
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Editor-in-Chief: Marv Wolfman

The story begins right after the events of the first issue. We get a brief recap, followed by the revelation of who gave our man Jim Scully after he got the blow to the head in the last issue.

"We need some women here, guys!"

Yup, a bunch of cavemen have got their hands on our man Skully. The narration reveals that Skully has a rather thick...skull. Not meaning he's dumb, but the blow didn't quite rattle him as much as it was believed. He is brought to the cavemen, who look him over rather curiously. They also note his pants. They think he has some nice pants. I don't blame them; Skully has good taste in pants. Anyway, the men start brawling over Skully...because they want to eat him. We got cavemen cannibals here!

Luckily, while the cannibal cavemen were all left brawling, our man got rescued by his fellow passengers from the plane that brought them here: Ann Farrow Reynolds, Dr. Raymond Corey, and Jeff Turner. Corey is not happy about it, as he thinks Scully is a cold-blooded murderer. Scully gets in the scientist's face, as he hates being called that. As was shown in the last issue, Scully did kill his junkie younger brother, but it was accidental. Jeff Turner defuses this, pointing out that right now, the four need each other, as they're all they have in this strange world. 

Turner notes that Corey's hostility towards Scully is due to his own anger over white people's racism. He asks if Reynolds has a gripe of her own. She admits she does have a gripe of her own. Like Corey, she has her own anger issue with society. She was a smart gal in her own right, top of her class. Thing was that employers wouldn't hire her because they thought she'd leave in a year after getting married and having kids. Reynolds isn't interested in being a parent, but it seemed men didn't care about that. As Jeff Turner points out, all four of these people have gripes with society and each other. However, they are in a strange place full of dangers, and they have to work together to survive. 

Like Scully, they were captured by these cannibal cavemen. But our man has a plan.

Scully calls out to the cavemen and challenges the leader to a fight. Despite the language barrier created by the fact that James Scully is a modern man and they are cavemen, they understand, and Scully fights the leader.

The leader is strong, and he tries to grab a club. However, Scully is smarter, and he is trained in Marine Corps CQC, or defendu. The fight gets broken up, not by the cavemen or Scully's new "friends, but a bunch of angry stampeding Styracosaurus. 

"BLAST IT, JERRY! WE TOLD YOU TO LOCK UP THE PEN!"

The cavemen and modern people flee, but Ann falls over. One of the Styracosaurs is about to trample her. However, Scully brings out his inner action hero and decides to do something insane, yet awesome. He jumps on the lead Styracosaurus, grabs its horn-covered frill, and makes it move away, directing the stampede away from Reynolds. Corey chooses now of all times to pick a fight with Scully.

Seriously, Corey. Dude just fought cavemen and redirected a Styracosaurus stampede. This is not the time for this! The cavemen return, but not to pick another fight. They want to show the four modern humans something. Something really cool.

"You guys wanna see a dead body?"

Yeah, they definitely have not been knocked backwards in time. That is a genuine alien spaceship. Corey had long believed that aliens had made contact with humanity...because they did. This is the Marvel Universe. Of course they have! Scully notes that the dead alien is wearing a belt. The belt buckle's design resembles a skull. Scully's like "this belt is neat. I want that belt". As such, he tries to take it. After all, that alien doesn't need it anymore. But when the man grabs for it, he gets shocked.

Corey has a good laugh about it, but he and Reynolds notice the alien hieroglyphs on the walls. That gets the two scientists fascinated. Scully, however, really wants that belt. So, he borrows one of the cavemen's spears to pry the belt away. This causes him to remember when he was tortured during his days in Vietnam. Or Siancong nowadays, thanks to History of the Marvel Universe. Yeah, that's a whole thing. He succeeds, and the alien's corpse crumbles to dust. This enrages both Corey, who believes Skull thoughtlessly destroyed an important scientific find, as well as the cavemen, who were likely worshipping it. The cavemen attack Scully, and he takes them on, telling his three comrades to flee.

The four flee to a river and try to cross it. But this lost land is not done providing hazards for our little group.

"FRIGGIN' JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES! GET OUTTA MY LAKE!"

A plesiosaur-like creature (Corey mistakenly refers to it as a "brontosaurus") is in the river, and it is not happy to see them. Scully manages to save Ann, and he starts pounding on the plesiosaur's head, his body glowing like he's being filled with power. Scully must have eaten his spinach today.

Scully manages to kill the plesiosaur with his bare hands, much to his surprise. The others notice that he is glowing as well. It must be his alien belt, somehow enhancing his strength. Looks like our man Skull is living up to the "Slayer" part of his book's title.

I enjoyed this comic. There are aspects to it that do remind me that this comic was from the 1970s, the mentions of Vietnam, Corey and Reynolds's attitudes, that kind of thing. But still, it was a fun read. Lots of action, and some building out of this crazy lost world. Combine that with some good art, and you got yourself some fun here. I did get a good laugh out of Scully taking an alien belt simply because it had a skull on it.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Skull the Slayer. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!