I'll admit it's quite a mouthful, but "DC Comics Presents Batman 100-Page Spectacular: Blaze of Glory" did indeed arrive in stores this week, and it's a comic I'm amazed to see back on the stands -- though one I'm pretty proud of, too.
The three-part story originally ran in "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight" issues 197-199 way back in late 2005 and early 2006. It's the tale of Eric Webber, a would-be armored car thief who runs up against (a) Batman and (b) a world-class string of bad luck. Years later, with not much time left, he plans to get his revenge on our hero with a surprisingly elaborate -- and surprisingly effective -- scheme.
They say everyone has at least one Batman story in them, and this might have been mine. Though it focuses a lot on Mr. Webber, "Blaze of Glory" also has plenty of Batman, and not Batman the crazy psycho, either. You actually get to see him do a bit of detective work in these pages. Plus, there are cameo appearances from Oracle, Robin, Nightwing, Alfred, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and just about every single criminal in Batman's rogues gallery -- and yes, that includes my gal Catwoman.
But I have to admit, the real star of the show is Chris Weston, who brought the story to life artistically. Forget Webber, forget the Bat family, forget the villains and forget my script. This issue is worth the price of admission for Chris' spectacular art alone. Heck, it might be worth it for just this shot of the highway leading into Gotham with the wonderfully retro Batman billboard in the center...
By the way, to bring the page count up to the magic 100, DC included a fun story by Adam Beechen, Steve Scott and Nathan Massengill about a couple of young kids out for a night of romance in Gotham City. So if you were on the fence about buying this comic, that should push you right over. Seriously -- this one's a bargain.
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