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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey    Writer- Mike W. Barr Penciller- Todd McFarlane Inker- Alfredo Alcala Agustin Mas- Letterer Colour Artist- Steve Oliff with Gloria Vasquez/Olyoptics SynopsisBruce reacquaints himself with the firearm that took his parents' lives, and gets more acquainted with Rachel Caspian, all while her father, The Reaper, continues his increasingly violent and gory trail of destruction, and Bruce's insistence on dealing with his predecessor by himself, and on his own terms, puts his fledgling relationship with Commissioner Gordon under considerable strain. But all is well, as he soon has a new partner in crime (quite literally), in the shape of the man who was wielding said firearm when it killed Thomas and Martha, none other than Joe Chill himself. Dave ‘Deal With The Devil' is a catchy title, I have to say, for part two, and I see this is the introduction of Mr. McFarlane on pencils. It's an interesting cover. Batman is back for round 2 and not faring much better. It is quite eye catching, and I do like how the Bat emblem is prominent on The Reaper's weapon. Kev Yeh, you can see the change in art style right off the bat (no pun intended) with the cover. This is clearly not Davis and Neary. That being said; I do like the bat emblem from the torn costume hanging off the scythe as well. Our old pal, Denny O’Neil, was the editor on Detective Comics at the time, and I’m wondering if it was his decision to team McFarlane with Alfredo Alcala as his inker, in an attempt to downplay some of Todd’s McFarlane-isms and make the transition, from the team of Davis and Nearly, to the soon to be Mr. Image, less jarring, and aid the continuity of the story. Or it could just be that the falling out between Davis and DC over the handgun on the cover of the previous issue, created a situation where time was of the essence, and they needed to get the second part cranked out as soon as possible. Either way, Alcala’s inking really "cleans-up" McFarlane’s artwork, and brings his pencils a bit more in line with Davis’s. Dave Yeah, you can see the McFarlane style all over that cover. He was a very distinctive style of artist though. Kev Absolutely, and his work here only gets even more distinctive by the time we get to part four. Dave I do like the look of this issue from the offset, the first two pages are bright, it wastes no time in getting into things, and creates immediate tension from the offset. I also like the colouring on these first couple of pages, plus, there's quite a contrast in the panel on the bottom of the first page, with Big Willie and his henchmen surrounded by the SWAT cops. There's almost a Penguin-esque look to him with the monocle. Kev That's true, man. Those colours are excellent, and it hadn't occurred to me that Willie looks a bit like The Penguin. Dave Yeah, slightly like the Colin Farrell depiction in 'The Batman.' Kev I do like Farrell's Penguin. Dave Yeah, I really liked Farrell's performance as The Penguin as well. I see The Reaper makes mince-meat of the SWAT team in those first three pages. We get to see how Gordon functions here, and the devastation The Reaper is causing as well. He's more than a formidable villain for Batman. Kev Yeh, this opening scene shows that The Reaper is on a tear now. If you’re gunning down cops, you’re not going to have the law on your side. Justice, on the other hand, might be a different story though. Dave It's setting the scene again. That first panel, with the rooftop sniper firing down from an aerial viewpoint, is great. It's those panels that really can help catch the attention and keep the reader interested. Great colours and composition.  'Rooftop Prowler.' Kev The composition of that panel is outstanding. Bruce may be a natural marksman, but he’s a terrible boss. “Now that you’ve made me my breakfast, make sure you clean and oil that gun, then put it away, Servant.” Dave Bruce Wayne deciding to be a dick to Alfred again here. What's the rush to get it cleaned? He sits around in his mansion all day, and he goes out a night time. Kev For whatever reason, I found it quite amusing that Leslie, who is usually a much more mature woman than Bruce in every sense, was like his teenage daughter here. It’s almost like she was stroppily saying, “If there’s a gun in this house then I’m moving out. It’s the gun or me.” Dave Yeah, the dynamic of this attempted maternal relationship between Leslie and Bruce is being explored here. Kev It makes the mirror image thing between Bruce and Judson even more prominent. Dave Yeah, I do like those mirroring panels of Bruce and The Reaper looking at their attire. Two people cut from the same cloth, but on different paths.  Saturday  Night Kev Yep, those last two panels on page 39 are excellent. They're making it clear to us that Bruce and Judson are flip-sides of a coin. Then, of course, the third panel on page 40 illustrates that Rachel is also the same. She too feels compelled to put on a costume and answer a calling. She is literally a woman of the cloth.  Fever. Dave Yeah, the similarities between Judson and Bruce are there, with the background reveal. It's an interesting dynamic, both are filled with anger, but Judson’s is purely homicidal. Kev Definitely. From here, we get straight into The Reaper’s origin story, which showcases further how, not only Bruce and Judson are cut from the same cloth, and products of their lived experiences, but that, in another world, Judson could have been the father figure Bruce so desperately needed. Dave That's probably one of the angles that could have been suggested for sure. It's a similar premise, killed by a gunman as well. Kev Yeh, the similarities are undeniable. The Reaper truly is a dark reflection of what Batman could have become. Dave That's the thing; he is a darker, more disturbed version of Bruce. He's going full-on Punisher here. And Judson likes to misqoute Bryan Adams lyrics to his daughter, "...Whatever I do I do it for you....." "Everything I do..." Please, Judson!! Kev Ha, ha! Did The Reaper's origin story occur in the 'Summer of '69?' Dave Haha. Kev I totally agree with you on The Punisher comparison as well. It's interesting that, at her mother’s funeral, we see Rachael being comforted by a woman of the cloth, while Judson, a literally broken and “distraught” man, has his back turned to his daughter. Clearly this is why she feels such an affinity with the nunnery. And I like the use of Rachel’s clown balloon as a substitute for Martha’s pearls in The Reaper’s origin story, it makes for good imagery. Dave Yeah, also, she has chosen the most noble of causes to dedicate her life to, and not get consumed by the darkness of these events. Bruce is looking a bit-dressed down for a millionaire, no flashy suits for his meeting with Miss Caspian. Kev Ha, ha! That's true, actually, yeh. This must be his "casual millionaire" look. Just like Mark Zuckerberg. Dave You can see by his choice of words in this conversation that he is trying to play up the bored billionaire routine, but almost letting it slip by talking about trying to escape the boredom. Sorry, I meant billionaire instead of millionaire. Maybe he is dressing down to act like a millionaire. Kev Ha, ha! Well, he was a millionaire to start with, I suppose, but inflation caught up with him. Being merely a millionaire is almost like living in poverty these days. Dave That is one miserable looking ice cream vendor next to them on that bottom panel.  "Just give me the two bucks, Pretty Boy!" Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, McFarlane was always good at those little, humorous moments. For example, Bruce “Mr. Burnsing” his fingers in excitement at the prospect of calling Rachel Caspian. Dave Also, when Rachel and Bruce kiss, and we see the close-up of her legs, are we to assume that her skirt has suddenly shrunk, or is Bruce in the process of stripping off her clothes in broad daylight? 'Cause that skirt was over her knees a moment ago. I can see the McFarlane touch here on the artwork, for sure. Look at his MJ in 'Spider-Man' for proof of this. Kev Good point. That skirt Rachel's wearing has certainly ridden up. Maybe McFarlane just thought it was a bit sexier. You're absolutely spot-on about his Mary Jane in 'Spider-Man' as well. You can see pieces of what it would become in here. Dave Oh yeah, totally. I have to say, Jim Gordon should probably consider getting a better lamp for his office, 'cause if he can't see Batman standing there until he lights up his Zippo, then clearly a trip to the shops to get a better office lamp is on order. Kev Ha, ha! Maybe Jim just needs to put the "big light" on. Dave That's a cool panel of Batman standing there. He's looking a bit too shady for his own good though. This page of Batman and Gordon’s conversation makes good use of the shadows, and that ridiculously long cape. But that was a staple in the Batman 80s comics, from what I remember. Was this the first time it was drawn like this? Kev It was certainly the first time I recall seeing it drawn to this extent. It makes no sense whatsoever, but it makes for such a good visual. Dave Yeah, and how did he fit that cape into his overalls? Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, Batman’s disguise as the luggage handler here is…..questionable, at best. That cape is just not practical at all, is it? And it gets even more ridiculously large under McFarlane’s pencil as he goes on in this story. That top panel of page 48 is a typical example of it. This is a good scene, and the interaction between Batman and Commissioner Gordon on page 45, is reminiscent of the scene at the end of 'The Dark Knight,' when Batman tells Gordon to hunt him. Dave It is indeed. You can see how far Batman and Gordon have developed in their friendship with each other now. Kev Yeh, there's a lot of friendship and mutual respect here, but it's still a tenuous working relationship that they've got at this point. Dave There is a bit of that in the next scene too, as Gordon talks about doing their job without him, and Batman is telling Gordon to go before things with The Reaper gets serious. Kev Yep. Shooting Gordon's gun out of his hand. We are definitely heading for a break-up between these two here. Dave It's a bit of a clash of the egos with Batman and Gordon, but it's better than them just instantly clicking. A bit of tension shows how they are still developing their friendship. Kev I like it too. Like you say, it shows that their relationships, both personal and professional, are works in progress. Dave McFarlane does like drawing those mid-air jumps before a battle. Kev He really does. All of his characters literally leap into battle. Dave Also, this story is gradually going for more gore now. Kev That's the McFarlane effect, Sir. McFarlane’s and Alcala's work on page 51, where Gordon snaps the pipe in half, is fantastic. It’s really well composed, and Steve Oliff and Gloria Vasquez’s colours are so atmospheric. And that 4th panel is definitely a homage to John Romita Snr. and 'Spider-Man No More' though. Perhaps it's a bit of foreshadowing as to the direction in which McFarlane’s career was heading.  Oh, Jimmy Boy, the pipe, the pipe is calling you. Dave And the whole Batman /Gordon friction is starting to show more here. Kev Definitely. It has reached breaking point. Well, for the pipe, at least. Interesting that Joe Chill refers to himself as a hitman. That opens up a rather large can of worms about exactly who was behind the murder of the Waynes that night in Crime Alley. Was someone else responsible for organising that hit? Dave This story is really going full circle, as Batman has to mix with his parents’ killer. That's a good panel of him and Joe, face to face. Kev Yeh, it's one hell of an image to end this issue on. Dave They like to make good use of the shadows on Batman's face in this issue. Kev Yeh, that second panel on page 54 is a prime example of that. Excellent "acting" work by McFarlane, to convey that amount of emotion with just two white slits for eyes, and the eyebrows under the cowl. Dave The underworld goons have quite a comically distinguished look to them. A touch of ‘Dick Tracy’ characters there. Kev That's true. McFarlane's stuff is more cartoonish then I gave it credit for when I was young, and I don't mean that as a negative at all. As an adult, I really enjoy how expressive it is. Dave I like how he is creating a distinctly individual look for each person. Kev Me too. His characters have “character.” Is this the first of McFarlane's work that we've covered? Dave I think so. I've only ever known him from his work on 'The Amazing Spider-Man.' Kev Yeh, we'll need to revisit some of his Spidey run at some point. That cape is ridiculously, ungainly, impractically large. I can't get past it.  I hate to be the one to say it, but I suspect that Bruce is overcompensating for something. Dave It adds a dramatic look to the character as well. Kev It really does, doesn't it? I suppose you don't necessarily come to superhero comics for the realism, or realistic/practical imagery. Why let realism get in the way of an iconic image? Dave I don't know what age McFarlane was when he drew this, but there is a youthful vigour to his work. Even in his depiction of the old hood guys, there's a kind of a childlike feel, giving them this caricature look instead of going for a more sullen, older looking figure, which is an approach that an older artist may have taken. Kev He would have been around 26 when he drew this, so yeh, you're right, he definitely had youth on his side at this point. The timeline is interesting here; if Joe Chill murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne 25 years ago, that makes Batman what, 32/33 here? Which is a few years older than the 27 he was in 'Year One.' Ah, comics continuity, eh? I’m away to jump on the old socials and whinge about it. ‘Cause that’s an incredibly important, appropriate and responsible thing for a middle-aged man to do. Dave Good point. Maybe Batman has aged in dog years. Kev Ha, ha! He's ageing like Ace the Bat-Hound. Dave What did you make of this issue? I didn't find it quite as snappy as the first part, even though it wasn't short on action pieces. Kev I like it. The change in art style is still a bit jarring, even 37 years later, but it certainly grabs your attention. Barr moves the plot along very nicely, whilst also giving us a few key character moments, as well as one hell of a cliffhanger to end things on, so I’m definitely on board for next issue. What’s not to like, really? Dave It was almost like it had moved from 4th gear, to cruising along in 3rd gear. Kev Totally. Barr set the table in the first part, and now he's just letting the drama unfold as it's going along. The pacing of it is really nice. At no point do you feel it's either dragging its heels or rushing. It's very skilfully done. Dave Yeah, it feels like it's a more controlled pace in this issue. It's not overly bombarding you with stuff. Cleverly done though. Kev Before we wrap this one up; something I forgot to mention earlier is Bruce being his usual, slightly creepy, sleazy self, when pretending that Leslie requested that he take her place in the meeting with Rachel. Behaviour like that would get him "red flagged" in 2024. Maybe even cancelled. And rightfully so. Bloody one percenters. Dave Haha. The new 2024 Batman story ‘Bruce Wayne: Cancelled.’ Kev Maybe that can be the sequel to the Pattinson movie. Although, Rachel realises that Bruce is like her dad, then immediately goes in for a snog. We don’t have the real estate here to unpack all those daddy issues. Dave Limited time scales, or issue size would mean that we wouldn't have the space to deal with all that. Also, nowadays there is sometimes too much backstory, or in-depth character studies. Maybe it isn't always necessary. Kev I agree. I'd rather do a bit of the work when I'm reading, as opposed to having everything spelled-out and spoon-fed to me. Dave Still, in general, it’s been a good story so far. Kev Yeh, I'm really enjoying it, so far. Again. (D) & (K) Next: 'Deadly Allies' 
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