Matthew Sunrich Presents... Detective Comics #410
By Matthew Sunrich
Humankind has probably always had a fascination with the bizarre.
Of course, determining what is bizarre and what isn't can be
problematic. For example, some cultures (or even subcultures) believe that "decorating"
the human body in various ways (lip discs, piercings, tattoos) is beautiful,
whereas others consider this sort of thing tantamount to mutilation. It's all
related to cultural conditioning. No one is "right" or "wrong."
It is arguably this diversity of perception that makes humanity so interesting.
It doesn't change the fact, however, that encountering something beyond our
narrow sphere of experience can trigger unwarranted judgment.
Robert Ripley made a fortune by traveling the world, finding "oddities"
that he could feature in his Believe It
Or Not! newspaper cartoons. (Readership is estimated to have been around
eighty million.) Some of these features dealt with peculiar rituals performed
by people living on the fringes of civilization, but many of them concerned
deformities and "freaks of nature." Ripley's empire has gone on to encompass
numerous books, television programs (who can forget Jack Palance's breathy
utterances echoing against stone walls as he guided viewers through a "haunted"
castle or ossuary?), and popular museums.
Let's face it: There are a zillion things that can go wrong with the
human body. It's actually remarkable that more people aren't born with
something terribly wrong with them. Many afflictions aren't immediately
obvious, but some are, and it is these sorts of afflictions that can, through
no fault of their own, cause problems for the afflicted. There is something in
the human mind that "knows" what a human body is supposed to look
like (whether this is innate or conditioned is debatable), and when one
deviates from this standard, we are often repulsed. Revulsion, however, often
realigns itself into morbid fascination. And where there is fascination, there
is often money to be made.
It wasn't until the 1600s that a "freak of nature" was put on
public display. Two of them, in fact: conjoined twins Lazarus and Joannes
Baptista Colloredo. The latter's torso was attached to the former's, and though
Joannes was capable of movement, he typically remained still, did not speak,
and kept his eyes closed at all times. Lazarus orchestrated his own exhibitions
all over Europe, making his living in this way.
A century later, Tsar Peter the Great displayed a collection of "human
oddities." P. T. Barnum's famous nineteenth-century sideshows featured "freaks,"
as well (he is, thankfully, reported to have paid them exceedingly well). Probably
the most famous "freak" of all, Joseph Merrick, better known as the "Elephant
Man," unable to perform any other job due to his grotesque and
debilitating condition, found livelihood during his short life by allowing himself
to be exhibited for paying audiences.
In this way, attractions featuring people with unusual deformities and
conditions became an integral part of traveling circuses. Tod Browning's
decision to cast actual sideshow performers (including Prince Randian, a man
born without limbs) in his 1932 film Freaks
resulted in major controversy, ruining his career and being largely forgotten
until it was resurrected as a midnight movie in later decades. (In spite of this,
it was selected for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry in
1994.)
Although they're still around today, freak shows are far less popular
than they once were. (Although much of TLC's programming has arguably filled
the gap.) Due to their longstanding affiliation, however, we will probably
always associate circuses with sideshows and the archetypes that we connect
with them, such as the "fat lady," the "human skeleton,"
and the "strong man."
Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to Detective Comics #410 (1971) and its lead story, "A Vow from
the Grave."
Things open up in an undisclosed location, where Batman is pursuing
Kano Wiggins, a convicted murderer who has escaped from prison. A furious storm
rages as the Dark Knight follows him across dangerous terrain and onto a rope
bridge, which Wiggins cuts upon reaching the far side. Batman's reflexes
prevent him from falling, but when he reaches solid ground the criminal draws a
knife. The Caped Crusader's superior fighting prowess overpowers Wiggins, but a
huge fist, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, smashes into the back of his
skull, allowing the killer to escape.
When he comes to, he finds a muscular man, the owner of the fist that
knocked him out, towering over him. The man tries to attack him again, but
Batman leaps onto his shoulders and subdues him with the sleeper-hold. Three
people emerge from the bushes, amazed that "Goliath" has been
defeated. Former members of a carnival sideshow, human skeleton Charley Bones,
fat lady Maud, and mute, seal-limbed Flipper have, along with Goliath, been
squatting in an abandoned house since the show went out of business. Accepting
Charley's explanation that Goliath meant no harm, Batman heads into the woods,
attempting to pick up the killer's trail.
He winds up at the house Charley described and, upon entering, is
shocked to find Charley hanged from the ceiling. Goliath attempts to comfort
Maud, but she won't have any of it, declaring that she loved Charley. Wiggins
is, of course, blamed, and Batman heads outside at the sound of a van cranking
up. Thankfully, the engine doesn't work, and Batman knocks Wiggins out and ties
him up. As he carries the killer's unconscious body back into the house, he
informs Maud, now alone, that Wiggins is not responsible for Charley's murder.
When he asks about Goliath and Flippy's whereabouts, Maud remarks that
she isn't sure. Suddenly, Goliath hurls a heavy beam toward them from above.
Batman explains that he knew Wiggins wasn't the killer because the only person
tall enough to have cut the rope that was used to hang Charley was Goliath.
Climbing the ladder to the belfry, the Dark Knight finds Goliath holding Flippy
by his shirt, preparing to drop him from the tower. He tells Batman that he
must leap from the tower or he'll drop Flippy. Batman agrees but secretly ties
his Batrope to a beam before doing so.
Goliath tells Flippy that he doesn't want to kill him but that he must
because he witnessed the strong man's murdering Charley. He needed to get him
out of the way, he says, so that he could have Maud for himself. The Caped
Crusader swings down to catch Flippy as Goliath releases him. Back on the
ground floor, Goliath makes a move on Maud but she parries his advances. Batman
appears, much to the strong man's shock, but receives a powerful kick from
Wiggins as he walks past his prone form. Goliath seizes him from behind and
tries to break his neck, but Maud bites Goliath on the arm, allowing Batman to
land a crushing blow.
Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano deliver a compelling story
here. Adams' dynamic layouts and expressive characters, as usual, dazzle the
reader and give the story gravitas. In the hands of another artist, it might
have seemed somewhat silly. The sylvan setting is typical of Batman's stories
of the period, and the architecture of the abandoned building is right in line
with the Gothic leitmotif, as well.
In Mail-Order Mysteries: Real
Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads (which I highly recommend, by the way), Kirk
Demarais showcases a book called Very
Special People, which was sold through comic-book advertisements during the
1970s. He remarks that it's a "stimulating" book, "until you
matured enough to feel guilty for seeking this type of entertainment." I'm
not here to argue whether freak shows are humiliating or empowering, but I
certainly think they provide fertile ground for some great stories.
You can find this story reprinted in several places, but your best bet is Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams volume 2 (now in paperback).
You can find this story reprinted in several places, but your best bet is Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams volume 2 (now in paperback).
Labels: Batman, comics, Detective Comics, Guest Blog, Matt Sunrich
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