DETECTIVE COMICS #517

"THE MONSTER IN THE MIRROR"
Writers Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz
Artists: Gene Colan & Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: Annette Kawecki | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman, now a vampire, returns to Wayne Manor, where he swats Alfred aside, apologizes, and descends into the Batcave. A moment later, Father Green arrives at the Manor's door and Alfred, confused, lets him in. Alfred places a call to Christopher Chance, the Human Target, then listens to Green's story: more than one hundred years ago, a New Orleans plantation owner named Louis Dubois abused his servants (formerly his slaves), until one night, those servants took revenge by summoning him out to the bayou at night and getting him bitten by a snake. Dubois' sister followed him out to the swamp, where the snake's bite turned him into a vampire, and Dubois then bit and turned his sister as well. Father Green reveals that Dubois is the Monk, and that Batman is now a vampire.

At the home of Dala and her brother, Vicki realizes that Bruce vanished during the party. But Dick Grayson arrives to escort her home, while Dala and the Monk observe from hiding. Elswehere, in Gotham City, Batman comes upon a hood named Marley about to rob a jewelry store. The Caped Crusader stops Marley by biting his neck and draining his blood, then he retreats to a rooftop as dawn breaks.

Continuity Notes: At Gotham City's WGBS News affiliate station, former Commissioner Gordon and his new partner, Jason Bard, visit reporter Olivia Ortega and procure from her the faked Batman photos that Arthur Reeves revealed during his campaign. Meanwhile, Rupert Thorne receives Vicki Vale's Batman photos from Vicki's editor, Morton. Agreeing with Vicki's assessment that Bruce Wayne must be Batman, Thorne prepares to take action.

BATMAN #350

"NIGHTMARE IN CRIMSON"
Writers: Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Robin awakens from a nightmare in a room at St. Jude's Hospital, where the preist, Father Green, has been watching over him. Elsewhere, Batman returns to Wayne Manor via the Batplane. After landing, he is greeted by Alfred and then Robin arrives. The Teen Wonder invites Bruce to join him for a party at Dala's house the next night, and Bruce agrees. Bruce brings Vicki Vale as his date, and he, Vicki, and Dick arrive at Dala's home that night for the outdoor gala. Dala immediately takes Dick into the house, and Bruce suspects something is amiss. He enters the house as well and finds traces of the couple Dala and her brother were holding prisoner. Bruce spots Dala and Dick outside, walking away from the party. He changes to Batman and follows, unaware that Father Green is nearby and spots him swooping throught the trees.

Batman makes his way deeper into the woods, where he is attacked by the Monk. The Monk overtakes him and bites his neck, then Batman fends off his assailant. But Dick and Dala sneak up on the Caped Crusader, and Dick knocks him out.

Continuity Notes: Surprisingly few this issue, as nearly the entire installment is dedicated to the Dala tales! But we do get a reference to DETECTIVE COMICS 516 and the Adacemy of Crime as Batman returns to Wayne Manor, followed by a scene where Vicki's editor, Morton Monroe, breaks into her desk and steals her Batman file. A page later, Vicik ruminates on her belief that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same. Then later, when Bruce sneaks off to search for Dick, Vicki goes looking for him.

THE NEW TEEN TITANS #21 & 22

"BEWARE THE WRATH OF... BROTHER BLOOD!" | "ASHES TO ASHES!"
Co-Creators: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez | Embellisher: Romeo Tanghal
Letterers: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: (issue 21) Raven and Starfire defuse a terror attack on Yankee Stadium. Meanwhile, Cyborg has made amends with Sarah Simms, but his peace is short lived as his ex-girlfriend, Marcy, calls him. She has joined a cult called the Church of Brother Blood, and is executed for attempting to escape while on the phone with Cyborg.

The Titans learn of Blood's church from Marcy's parents, and Robin, Wonder Girl, Raven, and Kid Flash go undercover to join up. But when Blood senses their presence while addressing his congregation, they are forced to fight. Blood defeats them all, but Raven's soul self escapes.

(issue 22) Blood takes Robin for interrogation and throws the remaining Titans into a dungeon. Meanwhile, raven's soul self recruits Cyborg, Changeling, and Starfire to come to the church and rescue their teammates. But Blood has called a local news station to the church for an interview, which catches the Titans' assault on camera. Robin and the others are saved, but Brother Blood is believed killed by Cyborg, in full view of the public eye.

Meanwhile, in outer space, a slave ship captained by Starfire's sister, Blackfire, heads for Earth.

TALES OF THE THE NEW TEEN TITANS #3 & #4

"CHANGELING" | "STARFIRE"
Writer-Co-Plotters-Artist: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez
Embellishers: Gene Day (#3) & Ernie Colón (#4)
Letterers: John Costanza (#3) & Todd Klein (#4) | Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: As he struggles to roast some hot dogs over a campfire, Changeling reveals his history to the rest of the Titans.

My Thoughts: It's interesting that, in this four-part series, three issues focus on the brand-new characters (Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven), while the fourth is dedicated to one of the pre-existing Titans. Though I suppose this makes sense, since Changeling has the least history of the remaining team members. Robin, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl have all been around for decades at this point, while Changeling has existed only for around fifteen years or so.

Thus, with a somewhat known but still relatively new and underutilized character like Garfield Logan, Wolfman and Pérez get to put their creative spin on him as they've done with Cyborg and Raven, and soon will do with Starfire. I must remind readers, though, that I'm no expert on DC history, so I'm unsure where Changeling's official history ends and the contributions of Wolfman and Pérez pick up. I can guess though.

Changeling quickly recaps his time with the Doom Patrol and the original Titans, then we move into an extended sequence in which he spends some time acting in Hollywood and becomes the target of an old Doom Patrol foe called the Arsenal. Arsenal kidnaps Logan's girlfriend, condescendingly referring to him by his codename, Beast Boy, which eventually prompts the name change to Changeling.