Batman: Mask

by Bryan Talbot (Writer)

Batman wakes up in a hospital bed surrounded by Doctors who tell him he is an alcoholic bum who dresses in a batsuit made of garbage. Is it some sort of hallucination or is his life as Batman the real illusion?

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #39-40.

Genres: Batman, Comics, Graphic Novels

65 pages, Library Binding

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Talbot began his comics work in the underground comix scene of the late 1960s. In 1969 his first work appeared as illustrations in Mallorn, the British Tolkien Society magazine, followed in 1972 by a weekly strip in his college newspaper.

He continued in the scene after leaving college, producing Brainstorm Comix, the first three of which formed The Chester P. Hackenbush Trilogy (a character reworked by Alan Moore as Chester Williams for Swamp Thing).

He started The Adventures of Luther Arkwright in 1978. It was originally published in Near Myths and continued on over the years in other publications. It was eventually collected together into one volume by Dark Horse. Along with When the Wind Blows it is one of the first British graphic novels.

In the early to mid-eighties he provide art for some of 2000 AD's flagship serials, producing 3 series of Nemesis the Warlock, as well as strips for Judge Dredd and Sláine.

The Tale of One Bad Rat deals with recovery from childhood sexual abuse.

Talbot moved to the American market in the 1990s, principally for DC, on titles like Hellblazer, Sandman and Batman. He also produced the art for The Nazz by Tom Veitch and worked with Tom's brother Rick Veitch on Teknophage, one of a number of mini-series he drew for Tekno Comix.

Talbot has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.

He has also illustrated Bill Willingham's Fables, as well as returning to the Luther Arkwright universe with Heart of Empire. He has also worked on The Dead Boy Detectives.

In 2006, he announced the graphic novel Metronome, an existential, textless erotically-charged visual poem,written under the pseudonym Véronique Tanaka. He admitted that he was the author in 2009.

In 2007 he released Alice in Sunderland, which documents the connections between Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, and the Sunderland and Wearside area. He also wrote and drew the layouts for Cherubs!, which he describes as "an irreverent fast-paced supernatural comedy-adventure."

His upcoming work includes a sequel to 2009's Grandville, which Talbot says is "a detective steampunk thriller" and Paul Gravett calls it "an inspired reimagining of some of the first French anthropomorphic caricatures". It is planned as the first in a series of four or five graphic novels.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

You've seen this story before in other media. Bruce wakes up but he's in a mental asylum, he's never been Batman, it's all been a facade! This story does a decent enough job with that plot we've seen too many times but also I really enjoyed the art, and thought the dialogue itself was pretty damn solid, but the plot lost me by second half and could predict the entire story. Still, not bad!

[Doctorjimmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Απλα σκουπιδι. Απο που να αρχισω? Απο τον κακογραμμενο, ηλιθιο ανταγωνιστη? Απο το απαισιο μελοδραμα? Το μονο θετικο ειναι τα σουρεαλιστικα τοπια κατα τοπους. Κατα τα αλλα, αγνοησε το.

[Dionisio Dandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight" run has some really good arcs that deal with the cementing of the earlier Batman persona, stories about obstacles of every kind challenging the Batman identity, each one resulting in a stronger, wiser, more determined Caped Crusader. In the short arc "Mask", Bryan Talbot successfully mixes ideas about obsession, alcoholism, the collateral damage that unavoidably spawns from ferociously chasing a noble quest, the symbolic and ritualistic power of masks and the mysterious knowledge that lurks in dreams and visions to present what is a truly unique and underrated tale that, in my opinion, feels like a worthy companion to "Batman: Shaman" and could've easily inspired the themes and tone of Neil Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" 2009 classic. While at first the ending twist seemed to me like an editorial decision to avoid going all the way and possibly ridicule Batman's character in the eyes of die-hard fans, Mr. Talbot wrapped it up masterfully and gave us an audacious hidden gem worth reading every once in a while.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman falls violently ill after preventing a crime, waking up hours later unmasked and restrained to a hospital bed. The acting physician indicates that Bruce has been experiencing psychotic breaks, being witnessed dressed up in a makeshift costume of rubber boots and plastic bags claiming to be some crime fighter named Batman. Presented with extensive evidence of this, Bruce Wayne is forced to analyze whether his history as Batman has been delusional fantasy or whether he is being gaslit by a villainous conspiracy.

I'm a sucker for narratives where characters question their sanity and this was a well executed instance of that trope. While the reveal and final resolution felt a bit hokey, tension was compellingly buillt throughout and the story was rendered expressively. Line work is detailed, compositions are cinematic, and panel layout was creative. Having forgot about Talbot's talents since reading Sandman this was a pleasant reminder.

[Renan Fontes · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best looks into Bruce Wayne's psyche I've read.

[Amna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting concept, solid art and writing.

[Dan Prestwich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little light mindfuck, Batman wakes up in a hospital with everyone telling him that he's just a delusional person who has imagined that he's a costumed crime fighter. I might have liked a little more ambiguity in the wrap up, although I suppose it's possible that you could interpret the last part as Bruce choosing his fantasies over reality, and that all of Batman IS just in his mind.

B-

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy story and bizarre art. Fun read though as it was very different from other LODTK arcs.