Batman: Thrillkiller by Howard ChaykinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In swinging 1961, Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson fight crime in their thrillseeking way as Batgirl and Robin! Will Barbara's father, Commissioner Gordon, or ace cop Bruce Wayne, deduce their identities before they get in over their heads?
This Elseworlds Batman book has been on my radar for years. My wife nabbed it for me for my birthday last week.
Dan Brereton's painted art always has a more dynamic, lively feel than the art of some other comics painters. His character designs for Batgirl, Robin, Bianca Steeplechase aka The Joker, and later Batman are all dynamite, fresh but still reminiscent of the source material. He also paints one hell of a sexy Batgirl.
A lot of Elseworlds don't stray far enough from the source material for my taste but this one has everything off kilter. Barbara Gordon is a bored millionaire fighting crime for kicks with her acrobat boyfriend, Dick Grayson. Bruce Wayne's parents lost Wayne Manor and the unknown cave beneath it during the Great Depression and Bruce is a detective on the GCPD, avenging his parents in that way. The Joker is a maniacal woman named Bianca Steeplechase. Babs and Dick are sticking it to the corrupt police force when they get snared into something much bigger.
Not everyone gets out alive. It's a great couple of noir tales, illustrated in Brereton's moody style. Howard Chaykin knows how to weave a gritty detective yarn, super heroes or not. As a bonus, the sequel, Thrillkiller '62 is included, building off the events of the previous volume. Without giving too much away, Thrillerkiller '63 is long overdue! I want more of this off kilter world!
Four out of five stars. Go buy it!
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