Requiem (Batman : A Death In The Family - Jim Starlin)

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	Batman : A Death In The Family - Jim Starlin
Date:	14/05/08 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A historic Batman story

Disadvantages: Becomes a bit silly in the desert scenes

Batman: A Death In The Family is a graphic novel that collects together a specific story arc (issues 426-429) from the weekly comics that were first published in 1988/89. Like the infamous 'The Death Of Superman' arc , DC sought to create publicity with what became a mildly controversial best seller, if not quite a milestone in comic history.

The twist with the 'Death In The Family' Batman arc was that DC Comics let readers themselves vote on the fate of then current and unpopular 'Robin' Jason Todd. Should he be killed off in this storyline or allowed to live? Two endings were eventually drawn with the final story to be decided by the readers...

The story begins with Batman and Robin staking out some shady looking characters in a wharehouse who are obviously up to no good. Robin jumps the gun, to the great annoyance of Batman, and tears into them. Back at his mansion afterwards, Bruce Wayne confides to his friend and Butler Alfred that Robin/Jason Todd is 'losing it' and that he's decided to take him off active duty immediately. Jason doesn't take this very well and storms off in a strop.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne's problems get even worse when the Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum again and manages to attain a cruise missile which he planned to 'fire at City Hall' but now needs to refinance his criminal empire.

Back in his old neighbourhood, Jason Todd sorts through his dead father's belongings and finds a link to a woman who might be his mother. She's working in the Middle East so he heads off to find her. The Joker is heading to the Middle East too to sell his missile and Batman quickly follows, aware that The Joker has a dangerous military weapon at his disposal to sell on the black market. Can he stop the Joker and find/help Jason? These two problems will soon converge to present a more terrible one...

A Death In The Family is an unusual and novel addition to the Batman legacy and will certainly suprise the reader with some of the events that unfold. It's a big event in Batman's history more for the shocking content than its own brilliance although I'd have no hesitation in declaring it an entertaining and competent piece of comic book art that I enjoyed.

Batman is a typically guilt ridden characer here but even more so than usual. He's violent and moody for much of the book and even uses a Sodium Pentothal injection at one point to get someone to tell the truth. Later he tries to punch Superman! Jason Todd was an unpopular Robin with readers, hence the vote on his fate, and you can sort of see why. This Robin is a street kid that Bruce Wayne found stealing the wheels off his car. He's stroppy and violent with a short fuse. I was never quite convinced by the Robin character, particurly with the bright yellow costume so I could see why some readers had a problem with Jason's presence in the weekly comics. To be fair, the next Robin, Tim Drake, was a more articulate and realistic Robin with a redesigned costume. You'll still get caught up in Jason's plight though as events reach a climax.

Other good things about this book are a very exciting final battle between Batman and The Joker with a nice and very appropriate final line. There are also some topical political jokes. At one point The Joker declares himself a simple victim of 'Reganomics'. Batman: A Death In The Family also includes appearances by Lady Shiva and Superman.

Ever since The Dark knight Returns, DC comics have loved setting Batman and Superman agaisnt each in various annuals and one-off things. In an amusing plot development in A Death In The Family, The Joker becomes a diplomat for Iran and Batman is told to leave him alone by the US Government to prevent an international incident. Superman is sent in to make sure Batman keeps to this. Superman's presence is very welcome later in the book and sparks the interest of the reader up a notch.

The Joker though is naturally the star of the book and even nuttier than usual in this one, as well as being more ruthless.

The story is related by Batman as a narrative flashback. It immediately grips the reader from the start and produces some exciting moments and big shocks. The section where Batman is at work in the desert is a tad silly though and doesn't quite work in my opinion. I think a blue costume would probably stand out a bit too much in the sand!

The art, by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo, is very clear and unshowy and does its job well. Batman is drawn quite strikingly at times and there are some decent detailed backgrounds in the Middle East sections. They have a couple of 'splash' pages and there is a nice split-page thing with a countdown clock sequence. The book could probably have done with being a tad more colourful though overall.

On the whole the Batman: A Death In The Family is an important one for Batman fans and an entertaining and decent read in its own right. The character of Batman is prodded to the edge in a manner that we've rarely seen in the regular weekly comics. His frustrations and reaction to this situation is more interesting consequently. We see him struggling with the general codes and limits he has placed on his line of work and lived within.

A Death In The Family is a reasonably smart book and has an interesting storyline that maintains interest for the most part. It's no The Dark knight Returns of course, but pretty good overall. All Batman fans should certainly own a copy.

I should also mention that the book contains an amusing Introduction by 'Dr Socrates S Rodor, a Professor of Twentieth Century History at Gotham University', looking back at the Batman and superhero era!

Summary: Interesting read for comic fans