Batman: The Cult #1 (of 4)

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In his introduction Jim Starlin refers to and draws direct comparisons with the religious right and their willingness to apply censorship to literature and burn books. Due to Batman's absence, Bane takes control of Gotham by destroying the bridges and using debris to barricade the tunnels to trap the citizens inside and, similar to Blackfire's actions, Bane encourages the citizens to overthrow the wealthy, leading to violence in the streets. I particularly enjoyed a number of sequential panels Wrightson does, for instance after Batman’s been shot and he’s trying to get up, instead he literally falls to pieces. But we see the GCPD fail, the National Guard fail, and Batman fail, to defeat simplistic tactics by homeless people with guns and knives.

This is the weirdest Batman story I have ever read, and I have very mixed feelings about it (some spoilers ahead).Art of the Crime • The Attack of the Annihilator • Batgirl of Burnside • Batgirl Rising • Batgirl: Wanted! Batman suddenly finds himself the prisoner of a mysterious religious cult led by Deacon Joseph Blackfire.

But other than that its still a solid read and makes for an interesting Batman story of him dealig with mysticism and mad men who break him and take over the city which requires him to save Gotham. Interestingly, The Cult also features Jason Todd as Robin and is most likely the only Todd trade outside of A Death in the Family. It does give a good idea of how Gotham reacts to all of this, but the same facial expressions and the boring page layouts make it a chore to read. Deacon Blackfire, a charismatic shaman with roots as old as Gotham City itself, has amassed the city's homeless into an army, one he seemingly uses to fight crime.When records of a man named Blackfire show up from fifty years ago, it's hypothesized they could be for this Blackfire's father. It seemed to hold together as a story while I was reading it, but on analysis the holes are… maddening. However, the caped crusader throws away his weapon believing that killing the Deacon would only make him a martyr. Batman is eventually freed from the cult but takes a long time to recover from his treatment at their hands.

I haven’t had a chance to read a lot of stories featuring him as Robin, so this was a lot of fun for me. Starlin’s run on Batman seemed to pick up where Miller left off, by presenting a hardboiled Batman, but The Cult is more overt about its influences. To celebrate, this July we’re taking a look at some new and classic Batman (and Batman related) stories. I love a compromised Batman and the idea of him being entwined in a cult that does his job “better” than him is ripe for drama.Graphic Novels Batgirl (comic) Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth (comic) Batman (comic) Batman ’66 (comic) Batman ’66 Meets the Man From U. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Nick: The Cult is a story that always intrigued me—Deacon Blackfire’s small but significant roles in both Batman Eternal and Arkham Knight were thanks to this story, yet the specifics of the comic were unknown to me, and not exactly regularly talked about in comic circles. He is in the clutches of Deacon Blackfire, a charismatic religious leader who has assembled an army from the homeless of Gotham. Gone were the days of Batman and Robin chasing The Joker over a giant piano, replaced by full panels of brutal violence and a general feelings of hopelessness for the citizens of Gotham.

He mows people down with a machine gun in one instance, and acts like a coward in many other instances. First published in mid to late 1988 as a four part miniseries, Batman: The Cult appeared as the realities and uncertainties of modern life made their way into the comics world. This week we will be discussing Batman: The Cult by Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson, with colors by Bill Wray.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. We get nearly 70 pages of Batman defeated before we ever see any sign of life from him, and even then, his victory doesn’t last long. Despite its critics, The Cult is generally well-received by the fan base and has been in constant print since its original collection in 1991. There are many unintended parallels with the rise of the populist right across the USA and to a lesser, although increasingly evident, extent in the UK. The layout of panels featuring televisual panel discussions, and the thin veneer of social commentary, feel like they owe a debt to the work of Frank Miller.