Sunday, November 26, 2006

I can recognize like three styles of car from the last 20 years, but I have my Batmobile preference down pat.


I do like the current trend to draw the Batcave with about a dozen Batmobiles in storage, even if Batman probably wouldn't have a 1940's roadster in the current continuity, or even the 60's TV version. It's just cool, and that's all. And, I suppose it would probably make sense for Batman to have specialized Batmobiles: Dark Knight Returns crowd control tank, 1970's Neal Adam's low-key street crime lab, or my personal favorite, Norm Breyfogle's highend racer.

I was looking for Detective Comics #601, which wasn't the start of the Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle run, but was their return after the three issue "Blind Justice" storyline. The Batmobile gets challenged to a street race on the first page, and the storyline ends with the Demon giving Batman a peck on the cheek. Yeah, it totally makes sense when you read it, so pick it up.

This all came up since the other day my older son put his allowance towards a Cars Lightning McQueen, while I picked up the Corgi 1990's Batmobile, which totally nails Breyfogle's art, down to the curved spoiler fins. And then we had a forty minute conversation about how the Batmobile would totally smoke Lightning McQueen. My point may have got a little muddled when he didn't know the Mach V, but he's got time to learn. Yeah, some people want to make sure their kids are raised Catholic or Orthodox or whatever; I'm just making sure mine know their nerd roots.

(Don't worry: my wife's totally 'street' or whatever; so the kids will be cool nerds. Cooler than me, anyway...)

From Batman #463, "Spirit of the Beast, part two" Written by Alan Grant, pencils by Norm Breyfogle, inks by Steve Mitchell.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I always loved that Demon story when I was growing up, and reread it recently and it still holds up, especially the Demon/Batman parallels.
Plus it explained to my twelve year old brain what a Tulpa was so later when one was on the X-Files I was the only one who knew what it was.

Keep up the good work.