Batman [Paperback]

Bernie Wrightson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Batman | Publication Date: December 18, 2009

Batman must stop the army of the homeless recruited by the mysterious Deacon Blackfire in this new edition of a classic title illustrated by master horror artist Bernie Wrightson, co-creator of the "Swamp Thing". Deacon Blackfire, charismatic shaman with roots as old as Gotham City itself, seemingly uses the city's homeless to fight crime. But Blackfire has a hidden agenda!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bernie Wrightson is a fan-favourite whose work includes Swamp Thing and Batman: The Cult. Jim Starlin is responsible for many of the greatest Batman stories ever told, as well as Cosmic Odyssey and Death of the New Gods!

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Titan; New edition edition (December 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848566689
• ISBN-13: 978-1848566682
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Batman Stories Ever Published., April 16, 2005

By 

Savant11 "Savant11" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: The Cult (Comic)

The Cult simply involves a story about Batman the disintergration of Gotham City, Bruce "Batman" Wayne's hometown. After a charismatic cult leader comes into town and influences the homeless people to take over the city. And Batman putting a stop to him.


Essentially what this book is, is a condensed precursor to the five volume No Man's Land series which was published in the late 90's.

I really enjoyed this book a lot it is interesting and engaging. And shows Batman to be a formidable warrior without turning him into a quasi ominipotent god. Jim Starlin is one of my two favorite Bat writers. In that he has always managed to capture all sides of Batman. By making him a 'man', a three dimensional human being. He's shrewd, formidable but still compassionate.

I loved this story so much that I attended a convention, just to make sure Jim Starlin would sign it.

This is a must for any true Batman afficianados.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BATMAN & THE CULT, November 22, 2003

By 

K. Jump (Corbin, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: The Cult (Comic)

A harrowing 80s tale from the Dark Knight. When the enigmatic Deacon Frost moves into Gotham with an eye on the poor and downcast, the Caped Crusader is but one of many to wish the "good" Deacon success. But Frost's motives prove far from altruistic, and when he shows his true colors even Batman cannot escape his sadistic grasp. Foreshadows some of the basic story elements from "Knightfall" and "No Man's Land," but Jim Starlin's tight, moving script is a far cry from many of the overblown, maze-like plots of today. The inner conflict Starlin's "broken" Batman must overcome is handled adroitley, and Berni Wrightson's visual depiction of the Dark Night Detective is quite powerful as well. Jason Todd is still Robin in this story, and Batman can't make it without him. The Deacon himself is the kind of wolf-in-the-fold that we see everyday on TV and in the newspaper--and sometimes even in our pulpits--a false prophet whose own Messiah Complex makes him capable of feats even a Bin Laden might applaud. It's going to take everything Batman has to bring him down, and the over-the-top climax does not disappoint. Out of print, but look for it in your comic shop's back-issue section (it was originally published as a 4-issue mini-series) or order it used from Amazon and add it to your own Batcave today.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jason Todd's finest hour, June 11, 2006

By 

Babytoxie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: The Cult (Comic)

The very late `80s was a time of big changes for Batman. Not only was the caped crusader's image and tone forever altered by Tim Burton's Batman movie, but he lost his sidekick Jason Todd (aka Robin) in a particularly grisly way. Before taking on Robin's demise, Jim Starlin wrote a 4-issue prestige format miniseries titled BATMAN: THE CULT, which took some narrative cues from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and paved the way for other chaotic tales set in Gotham City, such as Contagion and No Man's Land.

Starlin's story, while full of drama and action, is a bit too over-the-top for even this accepting comic fan to stomach, and it is perhaps the weirdest of the weird Batman stories. I've read all kinds of Batman tales, from golden age craziness to Elseworlds, but this one takes the cake. The Reverend Deacon Blackfire (don't laugh) is purging Gotham of its criminal element once and for all by rallying the homeless to his cause, drugging and brainwashing them, and getting them riled up to murder all the criminals, plus the politicians and police who would dare to get in the way. Batman is captured by Blackfire's goons, given the drug/brainwash treatment, and serves as a rank-and-file goon himself. And even then, with the situation getting so dire that Gotham City becomes first a war zone, and then a disaster area, the media is ambivalent to the situation, and regular citizens seem to feel that the Rev is doing a great job! Errr... yeah. Anyway, Batman must battle both the Rev's minions and his own brainwashing, which is affecting him with instability and paralyzing hallucinations. But that's okay, because who should arrive to pick up the caped crusader's slack and get him back in the action, but Jason Todd! That's right, the Robin that fans deemed worthless and had Jim Starlin later kill off in A Death in the Family is, in THE CULT, a hardcore fighter who saves the mostly-worthless Batman's tail numerous times. It really impressed me, to the point that I seriously wondered why any true fan would have wanted the kid dead.

Bernie Wrightson's pencils provide just the right atmosphere for this kind of story. If you've ever seen his work for Stephen King's The Stand, you know that Wrightson is the perfect artist to depict not only a ruined Gotham City, but a Batman fighting to stay sane. Unfortunately, Wrightson's pencils are almost completely obscured by Bill Wray's sloppy coloring. Muted watercolors with no contrast, and spattered backgrounds that make no sense... it's certainly in the running for the worst coloring job ever in a comic book. DC definitely needs to release a re-colored printing of this trade paperback, and to heck with Wray if he gets his feelings hurt. Sure, it's a dark story, but that's no reason to ruin Wrightson's detailed work.

So, it squeaks by with three out of five stars, but a recolored version of BATMAN: THE CULT would rate a solid 4, at least.