The Gotham of the 1940s and its new hero, The Bat-Man, are facing new threats. A killer is leaving a trail of mutilated bodies, and a scared city, behind him. And another new foe is there, one who revels in fear. The Bat-Man: Second Knight #1 is written by Dan Jurgens, drawn by Mike Perkins, colored by Mike Spicer and lettered by Simon Bowland.
Matt Lazorwitz: Hey, look at this. We’re finally talking about the first issue of Second Knight. Between this and Sisu: Road to Revenge coming out this weekend, what are you going to have to obsess over now, Will?
Will Nevin: You know me, I’ll find something. Also, don’t talk about those things like they suck or something. They may be obsessions, but I’ll be goddamned if they’re not good. Like, objectively good. (Mileage may vary as to Road to Revenge. You’d be wrong, though.)
Matt: Oh, I won’t argue that point. This is, in fact, a very good comic, as we will discuss below.
Will: If we must be out of Dark Patterns, I’d say this is a perfectly cromulent stand-in. I mean, cromulent as a stand-in for that clearly excellent book. Also, who knew cromulent was actually a word? Anyway, yes, let’s get to talking about it.
Second Knight
Matt: Here we are, still early in the career of this Batman set at the time of his actual creation, dealing with scenarios much more in line with the real world than most comics of the 1940s would ever address. And it remains an excellent book. Beautiful to look at, well plotted and with some great dialogue. There are so many books that come out from the Big Two written by creators of the ’80s and ’90s that feel like the publishers are just letting their old friends do something to keep them employed. But here, it really feels like Jurgens is trying to do and say something, and I am here for it.
Will: And you can really see the craft, you know? Often with the monthly (or, god help us, the bimonthly) books, you can see the seams, the little bits of intestines in the sausage that turn you off to the whole affair when it gets bad enough. The thing that stands out to me here is the dialogue, the real purposeful attempt to set this book in a firmly different time in the history of American English. That took research. That took love. And at no point — like we might see in some books like Dark Knight Returns or a random iteration of Batman Beyond — does the retro slang become future-slang impenetrable.
But beyond the dialogue, all of the characters are great. Rabbi Cohen continues to be an amazing ally — maybe the first who stood up to Bat-Man’s spooky bullshit. Lois Lane is great. But here’s our first li’l wrinkle. What do you think about both the Scarecrow and (who I guess we’re calling) the Hangman? This might eventually be hat-on-a-hat stuff, but I think it’s working well so far — and there’s a relationship we can explore there before it inevitably falls apart.
Matt: Two villains in a superhero story can absolutely work. I think you inevitably run into trouble with more than that, and it’s 50/50 even when it’s two. But here, we have an obvious dynamic of Scarecrow as the brains and Hangman as the brawn. Scarecrow (I am loath to call him Crane just yet, in case of a twist, but I figure we’ll be seeing Professor Crane next issue), pretty much puts Hangman in his place by using his fear gas on him right off. This both shows us who each of them is and sets up that inevitable clash. There’s no doubt that it’s going to happen; Scarecrow is going to kill this guy when he finds no more use for him, or try anyway. It’s just a matter of when.
Jurgens wrote Superman for the better part of a decade, so it’s unsurprising that he gets Lois’ voice just right, but I love that it’s a slightly heightened or at least different Lois. I can hear her in the brassy Mid-Atlantic accent of a screwball comedy heroine of a movie of the era. And she’s still tough as nails and thinks on her feet. Under fire, she’s still smart enough to take out the light source to keep the Hangman from shooting. I do hope that, despite Lois appearing, we don’t see this world’s answer to her partner in journalism from Metropolis, at least not yet. And if he does show up, I hope he has the power levels of a 1930s Superman. He can’t fly, just leap, and is just really tough and not godlike. It would suit the world better.
Will: Agree on all points, Brother Matt. I loved Bat-Man’s deadpan “Well that helps” after Lois took out the light — just another one of the little things this book gets right. And speaking of suiting the world better, I hope we find a way to tie Scarecrow’s gas back to the chemical warfare of World War I — seems natural for a book preoccupied (and rightly so) with the previous and coming horrors of war.
You’re musing about Superman, but we’re officially on Robin watch after the Flying Graysons poster. And Alfred seems practically imminent. But I like how we are slowly expanding this universe, especially after spending time with books that rush through the worldbuilding. *cough Absolute Batman cough*
Matt: If we are following the patterns of the original comic, we will see Robin before we see Alfred. Robin made his first appearance three years before Alfred, after all. And I agree; I don’t want to rush new characters. Between Jim Gordon being here, Julie Madison as a love interest (and the most interesting she has been aside from Matt Wagner’s “Dark Moon Rising” cycle and what Scott Snyder did with her in his Batman run), and the couple new characters, Rabbi Cohen and brothel owner Maxie, the cast is pretty rounded out for now. Lois is a good addition, but we all know she’s not sticking around.
Will: Oh man, I love Maxie as a grumbling scumbag informant under Bat-Man’s thumb. Each man barely withholding contempt for the other — such a great dynamic.
Matt: And I just want to add: great choice for using Scarecrow as the villain. His quoting Roosevelt’s “fear itself” line points out the theme of what Jurgens is getting at here. And I don’t think we need Joker just yet. We all know he’s coming eventually, but he’s such a big presence, I like letting the world grow before he makes his entrance.
Will: I really hope this series continues to sell because imagine watching Gotham react to all of the developments of World War II. Has Batman ever had to take a stand on Japanese internment? That would be some good shit.
Matt: I don’t think so, but I would love to see it.
Do we think the Hangman is going to be a character we know under his executioner’s hood? I kind of hope not. You know my feelings about Gotham and random crime, after all. I like a good reveal, but sometimes? Not to sound too much like Steve Ditko (a sentence I never thought I’d have to say), but sometimes a criminal is just someone out there to whom your hero doesn’t need some deeper connection.
Will: My guess right now is that it’s a World War I vet who wants to be heard about something. Possibly about how the United States needs to remain neutral. “Look at the mayhem I am so easily able to create here,” he might say, “which means we need to clean up this country and not worry with foreign affairs.”
I think someone we already know might be a bit of a letdown — let him (like Dark Patterns) be some scarred monster in a time of scarring.
Bat-miscellany
- Josh Weil joins the BatChat podcast again to talk about Grant Morrison’s first volume of Batman Incorporated.
- Speaking of Morrison, stay tuned to CXF for coverage of this week’s Batman/Deadpool #1.
Buy The Bat-Man: Second Knight #1 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
