The Batman Adventures Annual #2 1995: Demons

After demolishing a building in Gotham, late working citizens within among the casualties, R'as Al Ghul and his men locate an ancient Mayan tablet the villain had searched over two centuries for. Batman attempts to apprehend R'as, but is beaten unconscious and left among the rubble. Escaping with his life, Batman finds his way to the high rise condominium of occult expert Jason Blood, who'd helped Police Commissioner Gordon solve the tarot murder case. 

Blood's experience in the supernatural led the Dark Knight Detective to him, where the famed demonologist recant the tale of his first battle against fellow immortal R'as Al Ghul for possession of the Mayan tablet. The two are abruptly interrupted by Talia, who tranquilizes them so her father's evil scheme to release the pestilent demon Haahk upon mankind will not be foiled!

Finally alone with the tablet, R'as summons the dreaded Haahk from the depths of Hell, who promptly kills the henchmen present. R'as can barely control the demon under possession of the profane tablet, who reluctantly agrees heed the villain's bidding.

When Batman and Jason Blood finally recover from the tranquilizer and race to the scene, Haahk grabs Blood, who begins to rot from the pestilent demon's grip! Batman quickly recites the chant that transforms Blood into Etrigan, the demon bonded to him centuries ago by Merlin the Wizard: "Change, Change, O' Form of Man- Rise the Demon Etrigan!" Together, Batman and Etrigan attack Haahk ...!

 While Etrigan exuberantly blasts away at Haahk, Batman seizes the Mayan tablet from R'as, stopping him from banishing both the demons back to Hell. Hurt by the Dark Knight's attack on her father, Talia slaps her beloved, who says nothing, charging off to assist Etrigan...

After Etrigan uses the tablet to banish Haahk, the demon snaps the evil relic in two, knowing that while his alter ego would have treasured it's rarity, the danger it poses to mankind is far too great.

This spectacular annual ends as Jason Blood revives from his transformation, questioning the whereabouts of Talia, who escaped with her father. When Batman laments in dealing with her hurt feelings the next time their paths cross, Jason Blood offers, "We each have our own demons." A panel at the bottom pays tribute Jack Kirby, the legendary comic artist and author who created Etrigan back in 1972. Artists Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami adopt elements of Kirby's unique style in several panels throughout this issue- undoubtedly making it a special treat for author Paul Dini, as well as us fans of a certain vintage!   

Happy Hallowe'en! 

Thanks For Reading!

DC COMICS PRESENTS: BATMAN ADVENTURES #1

Picked up this unexpected 100-page spectacular of DC Comics Presents: Batman Adventures #1 last Wednesday at my local comic shop! This is a really collection of reprints from Batman Adventures #2 and 27, Batman: Gotham Adventures #2 and 4, and short from Adventures In the DC Universe #3, but fun nonetheless! The giants of Batman the Animated are all here, including artists Bruce Timm, Ty Templeton, Rick Burchett, Mike Parobeck, and writers Kelley Puckett and Paul Dini. My favorite story was "Survivor Syndrome", about another vengeance driven vigilante dons the cowl in bitter memory of his murdered wife, whom Batman takes under his wing to temper the fallen athlete's anger. Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Two-Face also make appearances- great stuff!

With Batman's 75th Anniversary in full swing, the more popular treatments of the character are being celebrated again, including our beloved Animated version. BTATB's own Bubbashelby gave us a peek at a couple of DC Collectible's forthcoming action figures in the Animated style back in February, and I recently picked up their Summer Fall Portfolio 2014-15, which gave a nice clean shot of things to come...

More Later- Make It FUN!

Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1

Picked up this GREAT Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1 for a buck quite some time ago, and was delighted by what I read when I finally got a moment to read it. The cover alone was worth the price of admission! It's dated Jan. 1995, but wonder if it came out in Dec. of '94. I already have February 2014 issues from Marvel and DC!

Things start off right in the first story "Jolly Ol' St. Nicholas" when Barbara Gordon stumbles into Officers Montoya and Bullock undercover at Mayfield department store. On the lookout for a robbery suspect that's been plaguing the establishment, Bullock makes a hilariously bad Santa, and Barbara decides to stick around in case they need any help from Batgirl!

Sure enough, the slippery thief turns out to be the shapeshifting Clayface, caught red handed by Barbara Gordon, who required the assist from officers Montoya and Bullock. Love that Batgirl- she sometimes gets in over her head, but what a brave soul!

"The Harley & The Ivy" finds Bruce Wayne captive of two of Batman's mischievous rogues, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, who drugged the billionaire bachelor with tainted lipstick. A whirlwind shopping trip ensues, Wayne helpless and drugged, a victim of their every whim.

Wayne manages to get away long enough to muster his self control and don the cowl, giving chase after the fugitive females. After a rough and tumble of two against one, Batman finally captures them with a Christmas tree- a glittering fascination to the Jewish Harley, and humiliating trap to Poison Ivy, self-proclaimed defender of plant life.

"White Christmas" is essentially a retelling of Mr. Freeze's origins, told around his escape from Arkham during the holiday season. Long incarcerated without incident, Mr. Freeze's disappearance perplexes the Dark Knight, doubly curious about the sudden blizzard that's swept over Gotham on Christmas Eve.

After a struggle in the snow, Batman corners the cold criminal, sudden pity interrupting his assault. When asked why he would terrorize the town for the holiday, the sullen man points to the grave of his late wife. The once brilliant inventor encapsulated his wife's body in a cryogenic state to buy her time in the fight against terminal cancer, but lost her due to a a corporate intervention, and became the dread Mr. Freeze in the struggle when exposed to his own super coolant. "We were married ten years ago on a snowy Christmas Eve. Nora loved the snow." the villain tenderly recalled, "I thought it... sad there should be none this year. And I wouldn't want my Nora to be sad tonight." 

In "...What are you doing on New Years Eve?!" the tag team pencilling duo Kevin Altieri and Butch Lukic take Bruce Timm's dark deco style to another level, their urban crowd scenes particularly impressive. They also inked it pretty heavily, making the drawings really constrasty. 

Joker takes to the air waves to invite Batman to a New Year's Eve of destruction, unaware that Batman is onto his plan to sonically stun the crowd he's gathered in Gotham Square! The Clown Prince of Crime corners the Dark Knight at gunpoint, but gets his bell rung instead! Awesome!

This was an outstanding holiday special I'd recommend to any Batman: The Animated fan! Bruce Timm worked a great deal on this, handling the cover duties, pencilling /inking/coloring the Batgirl/Clayface story, and sharing writing duties with author Paul Dini on a couple as well. See more info on DCwikia.Com! The original inked drawing by Bruce Timm, found at ComicArtFans.Com:

Thanks For Reading & Happy Holidays!