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While Halloween is over by the time you read this, I
still wholly recommend these selections for its art
and entertainment value.
HONORABLE MENTION/FAVORITE COVER: Batman #227 - "The
Demon of Gothos Mansion"
Neal Adams gives a nod to the cover of Detective
Comics #31 and enhances it with his flair of realistic
style. A specter of Batman observes a fleeing gowned
woman being chased by a menacing man in black leashing
baying hounds. Pure terror and great stuff!
- "Batman's Bewitched Nightmare"/Detective Comics
#336 - A horrific image on the cover - a pitch black
night and a witch riding a broom over a full moon
putting a hex on Batman, transforming him into a
Scarecrow literally before our eyes. The witch was
later revealed to be Zatanna, acting under hypnosis of
the villain, the Outsider.
- "The Batman Nobody Knows"/Batman #250 - A ghost
story by the campfire, with a twist. Bruce Wayne
takes some boys camping and each describe what Batman
looks like with differing results. Batman then learns
that his costume inspires fear to guilty; not the
innocence of children.
- "Red Water, Crimson Death"/Brave and the Bold #93
(v.1) - A title that traditionally dealt in Batman
team-ups; here, Batman visits The House of Mystery and
is aided by the macabre.
- "Six Days of the Scarecrow"/Detective Comics #503
- A sentimental favorite because it includes the Dick
Grayson/Robin and the Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. But
what happens when they become afraid of Batman?
- "To Hell With Batman -- and Back"/Batman #304 -
How can Batman avenge his death when he's killed and
he's now a ghost? (or find a way out of an intrinsic
plot concocted by the villainous Spook?)
- "The Night of the Reaper"/Batman #237 - Not to be
confused with the Reaper from Batman: Year Two, this
Reaper is a WWII concentration camp survivor seeking
revenge against the backdrop of a Halloween parade in
Rutland, Vermont.
- Batman vs. the Monk/Detective Comics #31 - A very
early adventure from Batman's casebook that had
gorgeous women and vampires. What more could you
want?
- "The Secret of the Waiting Graves"/Detective
Comics #395 - Little did Batman realize he would
stumble onto a couple's secret of immortality.
- "The House that Haunted Batman"/Detective Comics
#408 - To me, the eeriest part of the story contains a
compelling and disturbing scene with Batman's friends
standing over his grave only to diss him while the
caped crusader is invisible to them.
- ALL-STAR BATMAN (any issue) Gorgeous Jim Lee
artwork is wasted on the most vile and scariest
abomination of the Batman character. Frank Miller's
dialogue borders so much on parody it's laughable.
RUN, don't walk about from this book!
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