The January Shuffle at Stumblebum Studios continues! This week, while Drew Clements shows off his drawing talents over at the Sketch of the Week, I’m taking the reins of Down But Not Out. Of all the features on the site that I’m tackling this month this one is the most closely related to my own, being about comic books, yet it’s very different. In The Bum’s Rush I usually talk about a very specific subject pertaining to comics, something I love, something I hate or some random bit of news that catches my attention, while Drew’s Down But Not Out is almost exclusively a celebration of favorite oldies, but still goodies. It’s about the love of the form and the joy that comics bring. So let’s talk about a particular favorite of mine.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #28 - “Faces - Part 1”

Original Release Date: March, 1992
Story & Art: Matt Wagner
Letterer: Willie Schubert
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Assistant Editor: Bill Kaplan
Editor: Archie Goodwin

The book opens on the all too familiar gates of Gotham’s most famous institution, Arkham Asylum. The mad villain Two-Face, a.k.a. Harvey Dent sits in his cell flipping his double-sided coin, which lands in his palm. A decision has been made. Outside his cell a guard warns Dent that it’s “lights out”.

The bat-signal shines over the Gotham skyline. Commissioner Gordon waits patiently for Batman, who makes his usual theatrical entrance. Gordon informs Batman that Harvey Dent escaped from Arkham around two a.m. “2:22, to be exact,” says Gordon. Realizing that he’s dealing with Dent’s insane alter ego Batman disappears into the night saying simply that he’ll be in touch.

After searching for Two-Face for exactly two months, two weeks and two days, Batman is forced to abandon his search. It’s now been exactly two years since the villain’s escape and Bruce Wayne is attending a costume ball at Gotham’s French Consulate where, dressed as Napoleon, he approaches a real estate agent named Nelson Wren. Wayne is trying to negotiate the purchase of D’uberville Isle, owned by another wealthy Gothamite, Paul D’uberville. After a brief negotiation Wayne makes a deal with D’uberville to buy the island for thirty million. Wren bids farewell to Wayne and his client when, from across the room, he spots an alabaster beauty dressed as a Flash Gordon-esque space princess. The beauty turns and winks at Wren.

Wren follows the space princess outside and the two flirt for a few minutes. In a heavy French accent the space princess reveals that her name is Manon Barbe, visiting the country with her cousin, the Comte (Count) de la Enance. Count Enance… get it? As it turns out the Count himself is a wealthy real estate investor. Wren begins to talk about his dealings involving D’uberville Isle but is cut short as Manon makes her move. The two are about to kiss when a shrill scream pierces the night air.

Inside the consulate everyone, including Bruce Wayne, look on in horror as one of the guests, wearing a devil mask, screams and tugs to remove the mask from his face. The man, revealed to be a plastic surgeon, collapses to the floor and continues screaming and convulsing. Donald Duck approaches, or at least a man in a Donald Duck costume, explaining that he’s a doctor. The convulsing man’s wife explains that he’s been complaining about the mask all night, though she wouldn’t let him remove it. The doctor crouches at the man’s side and tries to remove his mask. But when he removes the mask the man’s face comes off with it! Bruce Wayne rushes out of the party and changes into…

Batman rushes downstairs and out into the alley where he mounts his batcycle (and what a cool looking batcycle it is). He discovers that the mask had been rigged to slowly release a molecular acid that would bond the man’s face to the false visage, which probably means that Two-Face has returned. Batman also believes that the murder was a diversion - his true objective was probably the immense, jade yin-yang being installed at the Gotham Museum for their Asian exhibit. Batman peels out of the alley towards the museum.

At the museum we see the jade yin-yang, still in it’s packaging, being hauled up the stairs on a massive cart. The curator yells at the men moving the yin-yang before having a gun pointed at his head by none other than Two-Face and his cronies, Romulus, Remus and Snake-Eyes. Romulus and Remus, huge identical twins, begin to haul the gigantic yin-yang back down the stairs as Two-Face looks on, calling the yin-yang “a crest for our new beginning.” Batman swoops down from above behind Two-Face who is caught unawares and loses his gun. Batman appears to have the upper hand until Romulus and Remus, riding on top of the massive cart, ram the giant yin-yang into Batman. Two-Face and crew escape and Batman comes limping out of the museum holding onto his damaged arm.

Meanwhile, back at the costume party, Nelson Wren says goodnight to Manon, who agrees to meet him again in two nights on the terrace of the Excelsior Hotel. Wren leaves the party floating on a cloud and passes through the next day in a dizzy, lovesick haze. He returns home to find someone in his apartment, someone with a French accent. But it’s not his ladylove from the night before. It’s a mysterious man wrapped in a cloak, half his face covered with a red cloth. The man reveals that he is interested in making a counteroffer on D’uberville Isle and if Wren will help the stranger he will be greatly rewarded. Wren agrees but seems greatly disturbed by the encounter and suspects Manon might be involved (uhm..duh?).

Wren visits Wayne Manor and informs Bruce Wayne of the counter-offer on the island. Wayne thanks Wren for the information and asks him to set up a meeting with Paul D’uberville the next day so he can finalize the original deal. Wren agrees and is rushed out of the manor by Wayne who explains that he’s going out for the evening. The next day Wayne and D’uberville jog together at Gotham’s Men’s Club and discuss the sale. Wren joins them, trailing around the track after them, huffing and puffing the whole time. With the counter-offer on the table Bruce bumps his bid up to fifty million with 25% down to which D’uberville agrees almost immediately.

Later that day Nelson Wren meets the beautiful Manon at the Excelsior Hotel and the two spend some time talking before she reveals that she will be leaving Gotham tomorrow, returning to France with her cousin, though she doesn’t want to. But, she explains as the two embrace, they still have tonight. Later a limo arrives to pick up Manon and she introduces Wren to her cousin, who leans out of the limo window to shake Wren’s hand. Wren and Manon kiss and then she departs. Inside the limo Manon sits next to her “cousin” who we see has no legs.

Two nights later Batman is keeping an eye on Two-Face’s most likely next victim, Charles Anderson, another plastic surgeon who is celebrating his twenty-second anniversary at the opera. Batman scours the crowd, searching for an assassin but is caught by surprise when Anderson is shot in the chest from above. Batman swings across the opera house to the scaffolding above the stage and sees the assassin making his break. The assassin turns and fires at Batman who dodges the shot and swings a pulley into the man’s face. Gordon arrives at the scene disappointed that Batman didn’t inform him about his hunch. He also reveals that, during the assassination of Anderson, two zebras were stolen from the Gotham Zoo. Batman informs Gordon that there’s still a chance for him to get the answers he needs - by letting Batman interrogate the assassin.

Following his date Wren dances through the door of his apartment. Inside waits the masked man whom, it seems, Wren suspected would be there. Wren reveals a dark side, telling the masked man that he will help him get the island from Wayne but he wants a piece of the pie. The masked man agrees, telling Wren “now that I have you… I don’t mind paying for you.” This seems to take the wind out of Wren’s sails somewhat.

Batman, in the meantime, is up to his old spooky tricks, using fear and darkness to intimidate the assassin in his holding cell. This scene is one of my favorites as the assassin cries out, “My rib! What are you doing to my rib?!” Batman, leaning over the assassin simply replies, “Holding it.” The assassin screams in pain and spills his guts, so to speak, revealing that he is indeed working with Two-Face and that he met the madman in France.

Back at Wren’s apartment the masked man bids Wren au revoir and Wren watches as the man gets into a limo. A limo that looks awfully familiar. The limo arrives at an abandoned factory and the masked man enters, removing his mask as he makes his way through the decrepit building. It’s none other that Two-Face! He arrives in a large room of the factory and reports that he has secured an “in” man. “At last our goal lies within reach,” he says. Two-Face stands in the middle of the large room, hat in hand, surrounded by dozens of the scariest looking sideshow freaks you’ve ever seen and declares, “ And soon, the freak show really comes to town.”


And so begins one of my favorite Batman stories. In my opinion, aside from Frank Miller (at least Miller in the 80’s), Matt Wagner is probably the best creator to ever tackle the character. He really knows how to incorporate the dirty, nasty and disturbing side of human nature into his Batman stories, something he perfected while working on his original Grendel story. There’s always something slightly unnerving about his work on the character. It’s so real, so visceral, that you almost believe that it’s real. His take on Two-Face is perfect and the character’s persona is reflected in the story which deals with double lives, hidden nature and how appearances can be truly deceiving. "Faces" ran through issues #28, 29 and 30 of Legends of the Dark Knight and is also available as a trade paperback. I strongly recommend picking it up. Or you could just flip a coin and let fate decide.