DETECTIVE COMICS #523

"INFERNO"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: In Gotham City, a fist punches its way out of a manhole. Three days later, Batman joins the police to investigate a department store robbery where the place has been utterly demolished. Batman leaves with a severed mannequin head, swinging past an asphalt plant. Inside, the men who committed the robbery watch Batman go. With them is the hulking Solomon Grundy, who has broken a mannequin he took from the store and wants "more toys."

In the Batcave, Batman has found mold on the mannequin head which he believes to be Grundy's genetic material. Then the Batcomputer alerts him to a robbery in progress at a toy store, and Batman heads into Gotham to find Solomon Grundy playing with dolls, and the men he was with lying dead at his hands. Grundy slaps Batman aside and leaves, but Batman follows the brute to a rug factory. Batman lures Grundy into an oven, where the creature burns to ash.

Continuity Notes: Batman indicates he learned of Solmon Grundy from Superman, who battled the creature in SUPERMAN #319.

The gangsters with Grundy are led by one "Doc" Heller, who, before his demise, chats with a mystery man in a trenchcoat named "Croc". Croc had interest in joining Heller's gang until Heller linked up with Grundy. Here, Croc tells Heller he's changed his mind, and leaves the gang.

BATMAN #351

"WHAT STALKS THE GOTHAM NIGHT?"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman, now a vampire, watches from a rooftop as Dick Grayson escorts Vicki Vale back to her apartment building. Dick makes a pass at Vicki and surreptitiously tries to bite her neck, but freezes when he spots Batman's shadow above. Vicki angrily blows off Dick and goes into the building, then Batman swings down and knocks Dick out.

At Wayne Manor, Alfred speaks with Christopher Chance, the Human Target, then goes doesn to the Batcave when he realzies someone is there. In the cave, Alfred finds Batman strapping Dick to a gurney. Alfred calls Father Green, who soon arrives at Wayne Manor and is escorted to the Batcave by Alfred. Green tells Batman that the only thing that will save him and Dick is either a full blood transfusion or a formula created using the blood of the original vampire -- the Monk. Batman and Green leave in the Batmobile, returning to Dala's home. She tells them where to find her brother, and the duo then proceeds to an abandoned church. Batman goes inside, where he finds the Monk's and Dala's two prisoners tied to crosses, then the Monk appears and attacks.

Father Green goes into the church to help Batman, but is attacked by Dala. However Batman manages to overpower the Monk and then defeats Dala as well, and Father Green prepares to make the antidote.

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.

BATMAN #349

"TITLE"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Janice Chiang | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In Hollywood, awaiting his appointment with the Headmaster, Batman returns from patrol and calls Wayne Manor -- but no one answers. And on the outskirts of Gotham, Robin is tied to a chair, gagged, as Dala speaks to him, then leaves the room. Robin knocks over a candle lamp to start a fire, and uses the flame to burn free of his bonds. But before he can escape, two monstrous beings -- Dala and a man called the Monk -- burst into the room. Robin flings the Monk out the window and smacks Dala aside, then retreats downstairs, where he finds a man and a woman bound, with fang-marks in their throats.

The Monk returns and attacks again, but Robin escapes when the monster catches fire. Robin flees out into the rainy night and is nearly hit by a car driven by a priest named Father Green. Green loads Robin into his car as Dala and Monk observe from their home. Later, at the hospital, Green asks the doctors to keep Robin's presence secret as he observes fang marks on the Teen Wonder's neck.

Continuity Notes: First off, I must discuss the weird placement DC gave this issue in TALES OF THE BATMAN: GERRY CONWAY vol. 3. In that book, this chapter comes after both installments of the "Academy of Crime" story -- something which, on a very cursory glance, might seem correct. "Academy of Crime" is a 2-parter, so one might think the two parts should run together, followed by this issue, which was published in between but probably didn't actually occur in between the two parts.

The only thing is, that's a totally wrong assumption! Part one of "Academy of Crime" doesn't end on a cliffhanger, per se -- it concludes mid-scene as Matches Malone meeting the Headmaster for the first time -- but the second part picks up a day or three later, with Matches reporting for his first class at the Academy. And, per this issue as described above, in between those chapters, Batman was cooling his heels, waiting to hear from the Headmaster, killing time by patrolling the Los Angeles area. Further, there's a sub-plot scene in this issue involving ex-Commissioner Gordon, and another scene with Gordon in part two of "Academy" which must occur after the one here.

BATMAN #348

Yes, we skipped BATMAN #347. It was a fill-in written by Roger Slifer and is
not reprinted in DC's TALES OF THE BATMAN: GERRY CONWAY volumes.

"SHADOW PLAY"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Alfred unpack in the original Batcave beneath Wayne Manor, under the secret observation of Man-Bat. When the doorbell rings, Alfred goes upstairs to answer it and finds an angry Francine Langstrom, with her daughter Rebecca, waiting. Francine raves that Bruce had promised to help find her husband, Kirk, but has not done so. When Bruce appears, Francine berates him and then passes out. After putting Francine to bed in the mansion, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred head down to the Batcave with a blindfolded Rebecca. Bruce changes to Batman, dons some infrared contact lenses, and takes Rebecca into the subterranean caverns in search of Man-Bat. But as soon as they depart, Man-Bat shows himself, swooping past Dick and Alfred to follow.

After some time searching, Batman decides to give up for the night. But as he and Rebecca are about to turn around, Man-Bat appears and attacks, knocking Batman down a cliff. The Caped Crusader climbs back up a few minutes later to find Man-Bat and Rebecca gone. Batman follows the sound of Rebecca's screams to find that Man-Bat has taken her to "his" Bat-cave; a cavern filled with bats. Man-Bat attacks Batman, but the hero appeals to his humanity by way of Rebecca. Suddenly, Kirk Langstrom's personality returns, and Batman overdoses him with the Man-Bat antidote. Soon after, Kirk is reunited with his wife and daughter in Wayne Manor.

DETECTIVE COMICS #512

"THE FATAL PRESCRIPTION OF DOCTOR DEATH!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Dan Adkins
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Doctor Death reveals to Batman that everyone in Gotham was dosed with his dust, and that the city must pay him one billion dollars for the antitode. He then departs, leaving Batman and the unconscious Robin hanging by their wrists from the bridge. Later, Mayor Hill takes a call from Doctor Death and refuses to negotiate with him. At dawn, following three hours of hanging, Batman takes a desperate chance and manages to free both himself and Robin. He then spends the day at the overwhelmed Gotham General hospital by Robin's bedside and helping doctors in their search for an antidote. Elsewhere, a Gotham SWAT team reaches Relief Island, but finds Doctor Death is gone. Batman then heads to the estate of Death's alter ego, Doctor Karl Hellfern, and finds the doctor there. Death sprays Batman with a concentrated dose of his dust, then attempts escape, but Batman takes down his helicopter and captures the doctor.

Death himself is dosed with the dust, and Batman takes him to the hospital. The next morning, the city is sprayed with the antidote to Death's formula, saving the lives of everyone in Gotham.

Continuity Notes: Vicki Vale develops her photos from the party in the prior issue of BATMAN, and finds that Dala's image is curiously blurred beside a perfectly in-focus Dick Grayson.

BATMAN #345

"CALLING DOCTOR DEATH"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In a location unknown, a stoolpigeon named Keswick is brought before a mystery man in a wheelchair. The man chastizes Keswick for attempting to betry him to the police, then sprays Keswick with some dust. Later, Batman arrives at the Gotham waterfront, where Commissioner Gordon presides over the recovery of Keswick's body. Batman requests the autopsy, and then departs to rejoin a party in progress downtown as Bruce Wayne. There, he notes several revelers engaged with a wheelchair-bound man named Doctor Karl Hellfern. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson exits the party with his date, Dala, and they spot a cloud of dust raining down on Gotham. Dick is struck on the hand by some of the dust. Later, Bruce joins Robin in the Batcave, where the Teen Wonder is analyzing the dust. The Batcomputer comes up with a prognosis of death for anyone sprinkled with it.

Elsewhere, Commissioner Gordon meets with Gotham's new mayor, Hamilton Hill. As Gordon expected, Hill demands Gordon's resignation and gives him twenty-four hours to comply before he will proceed with an impeachment effort. Later, Gordon meets with Batman and Robin, revealing that Keswick died of an extreme allergic reaction to the same dust which hit Robin and countless other Gothamites. The Dynamic Duo go in search of Keswick's killer, and are referred by a stoolpigeon to Gotham's long-abandoned Relief Island. The heroes take the Batboat to the island and are ambushed upon arrival by a group of martial artists. Robin, weakened by his reaction to the dust, is knocked out. And when Batman is distracted by his partner's defeat, he too is beaten. Batman awakens later, hanging with Robin from a bridge passing over the island. Below, Doctor Hellfern -- a.k.a. Doctor Death -- gloats over his prisoners.

Continuity Notes: Batman notes in the opening pages that Gordon is distracted, and chalks it up (correctly, as we see a couple pages later) to the commissioner's problems with Mayor Hill. A footnote informs readers that Hill was elected "Last month" in the prior issues of BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS.

BATMAN #344

"MONSTER, MY SWEET!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: At Dawn the day before Gotham's mayoral election, Batman arrives in the Batcave and discusses with Alfred Arthur Reeves' plan to expose his identity. Meanwhile, Poison Ivy meets with mob boss "Big Jack" Johnson and tells him that she's now in charge of his gang. Later that morning, Reeves announced that he will reveal Batman's identity at a press conference that night. And later still, Poison Ivy meets the Wayne Foundation board of directors at Gotham National Bank, and collects her check for the full sum of the Foundation's assets. Subsequently, Batman begins stalking Posion Ivy, appearing everywhere she goes throughout the afternoon until she returns to her hideout.

That night, Batman meets Commissioner Gordon at City Hall for Reeves' press conference. The city councilman reveals photos which appear to show that Batman is actually "Big Jack" Johnson. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson returns to the Wayne penthouse. Later, Batman arrives at Poison Ivy's rooftop greenhouse and smashes in, to find Ivy waiting for him. She reveals that she has mutated her valet, Ivor, into a plant-man, and orders the creature to kill Batman. Their fight carries them outside and Batman is injured during the battle. Meanwhile, ace TV reporter Olivia Ortega receives an envelope from a mystery source and opens it in shock. Back at the greenhouse, Robin arrives and takes out Poison Ivy, while Batman defeats Ivor. In the aftermath, Ivor reveals Ivy's plan to loot the Wayne Foundation, as Commissioner Gordon listens.

Later, the Dynamic Duo return to the Batcave in time to view a special news report with Alfred, in which Olivia Ortega reveals that Reeve's photos were doctored fakes, thus sealing the councilman's fate the night before the election.

DETECTIVE COMICS #510

"HEAD-HUNT BY A MAD HATTER!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Klaus Janson | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman watches a mayoral debate between Hamilton Hill and Arthur Reeves, then stops a robbery. Meanwhile, Lucius Fox is working late at Wayne Enterprises when the company computer goes haywire and knocks him out, and he is subsequently kidnapped by the Mad Hatter. The next morning Bruce Wayne takes a call from Commissioner Gordon, informing him of the incident. Bruce meets the commissioner in the Wayne offices, where his secretary presents him with a business card from Head Hunters, Inc., which she found on her desk. At Gordon's order, Bruce calls the number. The Mad Hatter answers and tells Bruce he will return Lucius for two million dollars.

Gordon orders Bruce to pay the ransom so the police can track it. But before doing so, Bruce does some investigating of a component which was added to his company computer. Afterward, Bruce pays the ransom and when the Hatter confirms it has been done, he drains all of Lucius's business knowledge with a special computer, then perpares to erase the executive's memory -- but Batman appears, having traced the electronic component to the Hatter's hideout. Batman takes out the Hatter's goons, then volunteers to take Lucius's place in his machine. The Hatter agrees, but his device fails to erase Batman's memory. Later, as the police take the Hatter and his men away, Batman explains that he wore a special rubberized headpiece under his cowl, which prevented his brain from being drained.

BATMAN #343

"A DAGGER SO DEADLY..."
Writer Gerry Conway | Artist: Gene Colan | Embellisher: Klaus Janson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman ends a fruitless search for Man-Bat near Wayne Manor, and drives back to Gotham City. Inside city limits, he spots a knife-thrower on a motorcycle who takes out a semi-truck with a well-placed dagger. Batman drives after the villain, who calls himself Dagger, but another hurled knife takes the Batmobile out of commission and Batman is forced to drive it off Gotham bridge to prevent it from exploding near civilians.

The next day, Dagger continues his spree, attacking a jewelry shop to extort protection money. He eludes the police and escapes. That night, Batman dives for the crashed Batmobile and retrieves Dagger's knife, which leads him to the weapon's manufacturer: the Rennington Steel company in New York. Batman speaks with Mister Rennington, who leaves him momentarily and then returns in the costume of Dagger. Rennington attacks Batman, but the Caped Crusader proves more than his match, using a dummy to distract Dagger and then knocking him out with a massive novelty dagger. Batman turns Dagger over to the police and then drives back to Gotham.

Continuity Notes: Narration states that Batman has been searching for Man-Bat for a week, with a footnote pointing to the prior issue for their last encounter. However Batman also thinks to himself that he traveled to Egypt during that week (footnoted to DETECTIVE COMICS #508), and wonders if the trail went cold because of that little side-quest.

BATMAN #340

"A MAN CALLED MOLE!"
Writers: Gerry Conway & Roy Thomas | Inker: Adrian Gonzales
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano
take great pleasure in introducing Gene Colan, Penciler

The Plot: At night in Gotham, a stockbroker named William Elder is killed by a creature from underground. The next morning, Batman investigates the body with Commissioner Gordon. The next night, a psychiatrist, Doctor Kurtzman, is killed in the same way. But this time, Batman is on patrol and reaches the doctor's office. He enters a hole left by Kurtzman's assailant, and battles a monster calling himself the Mole underground. But the Mole, who seems to know Batman, escapes. Later, Batman recalls fighting a tunnel-digging hoodlum called the Mole, and calls Gotham State Prison to check on him. The warden says that the Mole's parole was recently denied by a board consisting of Elder, Kurtzman, and chemical mogul Sandra Clarke.

Bruce Wayne brings Sandra to Wayne Manor to keep her safe from the Mole, but he also plants a story in the newspaper indicating that she will be staying there to recuperate from an illness. That night, the Mole tunnels into the Batcave and makes his way to the manor, where he attacks Sandra and brings her underground. There, he tells her that after his parole was denied, he tunneled out of prison, but was soaked by tainted sewage and mutated into a monster. Batman arrives and defeats the Mole, who falls into an underground river, seemingly killed. Batman takes Sandra to safety and then goes to bed.

Continuity Notes: Gene Colan joins BATMAN as the new regular penciler, a role he will maintain for a number of years -- though he will hop titles to do so, becoming the DETECTIVE COMICS penciler after a few issues. But on that series, he will outlast Gerry Conway's tenure on the title and continue to draw it under the next writer, Doug Moench, right up until the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS reboot in 1986! What I repeat now is hearsay, but I believe I recall that Colan, a longtime Marvel stalwart and favorite of Stan Lee's, was dismissed from the House of Ideas in the early eighties by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, for "cutting corners" on his assignments.

HULK! MAGAZINE #11 & #12

”GRAVEN IMAGE OF DEATH!” | “EMBASSY OF FEAR!”
Script: Doug Moench | Art: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga (issue 11);
Keith Pollard, Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito (issue 12)
Editor: Rick Marschall

The Plot: (issue 11) Moon Knight witnesses a murder, then becomes embroiled in a chase around the city involving a key stolen by the murderer, the hijacked taxi cab of Jake Lockley, and a statue of the Egyptian god, Horus, which has been replaced with a fake. Finally, Moon Knight’s investigation leads him back to the mansion of Joel Luxor, who was murdered earlier in the evening, and where Marlene is now at the mercy of Crane, Luxor’s ex-partner turned killer.

(issue 12) Moon Knight rescues Marlene, who’s been shot in the arm, from Crane. They fail to find the Horus statue, but learn that Chilean ambassador Alphonse Leroux has it. Days later, Steven Grant and Marlene attend a gala at the French embassy, where Grant introduces himself to Leroux and expresses interest in acquiring the statue. Leroux invites Grant to his embassy at midnight, but Moon Knight arrives first, learns Leroux is in league with terrorists, and disables Leroux’s guards. At midnight, Grant shows up and tells Leroux he will pay half a million dollars for Horus, but only on the condition that Moon Knight deliver the money to Leroux’s terrorist allies.