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Batman: Shadow of the Bat (1992)
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #18
"The God of Fear" part 3, conclusion to the "Knightfall" tie-in arc. Gotham City is in flames as the Scarecrow releases his fear gas everywhere and demands to be named God of Fear. Meanwhile, Anarky blames Batman for the level of crime in Gotham--and for that, the Dark Knight must pay!
27 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Alan Grant
1,714 books144 followersAlan Grant was a Scottish comic book writer known for writing Judge Dredd in 2000 AD as well as various Batman titles during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also the creator of the character Anarky.
Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he became an editor for D.C. Thomson before moving to London from Dundee in 1970 to work for IPC on various romance magazines. After going back to college and having a series of jobs, Grant found himself back in Dundee and living on Social Security. He then met John Wagner, another former D.C. Thompson editor, who was helping put together a new science fiction comic for IPC, 2000 A.D., and was unable to complete his other work. Wagner asked Grant if he could help him write the Tarzan comic he was working on; so began the Wagner/Grant writing partnership.
The pair eventually co-wrote Judge Dredd. They would work on other popular strips for the comic, including Robo-Hunter and Strontium Dog using the pseudonym T.B. Grover. Grant also worked on other people's stories, changing and adding dialogue, most notably Harry Twenty on the High Rock, written by Gerry Finley-Day. Judge Dredd would be Grant's main concern for much of the 1980s. Grant and Wagner had developed the strip into the most popular in 2000AD as well as creating lengthy epic storylines such as The Apocalypse War. Grant also wrote for other IPC comics such as the revamped Eagle.
By the late 1980s, Grant and Wagner were about to move into the American comic market. Their first title was a 12-issue miniseries called Outcasts for DC Comics. Although it wasn't a success, it paved the way for the pair to write Batman stories in Detective Comics from issue 583, largely with Norm Breyfogle on art duties across the various Batman titles Grant moved to. After a dozen issues, Wagner left Grant as sole writer. Grant was one of the main Batman writers until the late 1990s. The pair also created a four issue series for Epic Comics called The Last American. This series, as well as the Chopper storyline in Judge Dredd, is blamed for the breakup of the Wagner/Grant partnership. The pair split strips, with Wagner keeping Judge Dredd and Grant keeping Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson. Grant and Wagner continue to work together on special projects such as the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover Judgement on Gotham. During the late 1980s, Grant experienced a philosophical transformation and declared himself an anarchist. The creation of the supervillain Anarky was initially intended as a vehicle for exploring his political opinions through the comic medium. In the following years, he would continue to utilize the character in a similar fashion as his philosophy evolved.
Grant's projects at the start of the 90s included writing Detective Comics and Strontium Dog, but two projects in particular are especially notable. The first is The Bogie Man, a series co-written by Wagner which was the pair's first venture into independent publishing. The second is Lobo, a character created by Keith Giffen as a supporting character in The Omega Men. Lobo gained his own four issue mini series in 1990 which was drawn by Simon Bisley. This was a parody of the 'dark, gritty' comics of the time and proved hugely popular. After several other miniseries (all written by Grant, sometimes with Giffen as co-writer), Lobo received his own ongoing series. Grant was also writing L.E.G.I.O.N. (a Legion of Super-Heroes spin-off) and The Demon (a revival of Jack Kirby's charac
Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he became an editor for D.C. Thomson before moving to London from Dundee in 1970 to work for IPC on various romance magazines. After going back to college and having a series of jobs, Grant found himself back in Dundee and living on Social Security. He then met John Wagner, another former D.C. Thompson editor, who was helping put together a new science fiction comic for IPC, 2000 A.D., and was unable to complete his other work. Wagner asked Grant if he could help him write the Tarzan comic he was working on; so began the Wagner/Grant writing partnership.
The pair eventually co-wrote Judge Dredd. They would work on other popular strips for the comic, including Robo-Hunter and Strontium Dog using the pseudonym T.B. Grover. Grant also worked on other people's stories, changing and adding dialogue, most notably Harry Twenty on the High Rock, written by Gerry Finley-Day. Judge Dredd would be Grant's main concern for much of the 1980s. Grant and Wagner had developed the strip into the most popular in 2000AD as well as creating lengthy epic storylines such as The Apocalypse War. Grant also wrote for other IPC comics such as the revamped Eagle.
By the late 1980s, Grant and Wagner were about to move into the American comic market. Their first title was a 12-issue miniseries called Outcasts for DC Comics. Although it wasn't a success, it paved the way for the pair to write Batman stories in Detective Comics from issue 583, largely with Norm Breyfogle on art duties across the various Batman titles Grant moved to. After a dozen issues, Wagner left Grant as sole writer. Grant was one of the main Batman writers until the late 1990s. The pair also created a four issue series for Epic Comics called The Last American. This series, as well as the Chopper storyline in Judge Dredd, is blamed for the breakup of the Wagner/Grant partnership. The pair split strips, with Wagner keeping Judge Dredd and Grant keeping Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson. Grant and Wagner continue to work together on special projects such as the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover Judgement on Gotham. During the late 1980s, Grant experienced a philosophical transformation and declared himself an anarchist. The creation of the supervillain Anarky was initially intended as a vehicle for exploring his political opinions through the comic medium. In the following years, he would continue to utilize the character in a similar fashion as his philosophy evolved.
Grant's projects at the start of the 90s included writing Detective Comics and Strontium Dog, but two projects in particular are especially notable. The first is The Bogie Man, a series co-written by Wagner which was the pair's first venture into independent publishing. The second is Lobo, a character created by Keith Giffen as a supporting character in The Omega Men. Lobo gained his own four issue mini series in 1990 which was drawn by Simon Bisley. This was a parody of the 'dark, gritty' comics of the time and proved hugely popular. After several other miniseries (all written by Grant, sometimes with Giffen as co-writer), Lobo received his own ongoing series. Grant was also writing L.E.G.I.O.N. (a Legion of Super-Heroes spin-off) and The Demon (a revival of Jack Kirby's charac
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 25, 2024
Bravo - turned out to be like exactly the plot of Batman Begins.
Again, would have loved Bruce not Paul and frankly Anarky did bupkis but this 3-issue series was a pretty good lil run.
Again, would have loved Bruce not Paul and frankly Anarky did bupkis but this 3-issue series was a pretty good lil run.
December 27, 2024
The God of Fear draws to a close. Scarecrow's campaign reaches its apex - there're some very good vignettes of his decoys turning themselves in, one by one, only to wreak havoc - and Anarky finally lures Jean-Paul Valley into a confrontation with the good doctor, only to sweep in at the end and try claim his brand of justice. The story effectively mirrors Paul and Anarky as radicalists whose attempts at rooting crime/evil at its source take dark twists. It's never a matter of physical contest against Scarecrow or Anarky, but rather them overestimating Jean-Paul's limits: Scarecrow tries (and fails) exploiting his "code of honor" by putting an innocent life on the way, while Anarky tries (and fails) to reason with him. If anything Anarky ends up coming across as the actual hero of the two.
Now, would I rather be getting all this introspection and analysis into the dilemma of Batman via Bruce Wayne rather than Jean-Paul Valley? Yes, although I suppose I appreciate that Paul is the one to surrender to corruption and that Bruce is the one to eventually right the way of the Dark Knight.
Now, would I rather be getting all this introspection and analysis into the dilemma of Batman via Bruce Wayne rather than Jean-Paul Valley? Yes, although I suppose I appreciate that Paul is the one to surrender to corruption and that Bruce is the one to eventually right the way of the Dark Knight.
December 8, 2020
Jean Paul is one cold and scary dude, I would NOT like to cross his path. It’s funny, all those misconceptions about Batman from people who don’t read comics, you know, all those “hot takes” that go like: “Batman likes to beat up the poor and mentally ill”, “Batman would break all your bones for jaywalking”. All are true, that’s Jean Paul’s Batman tho, not Bruce’s.
March 11, 2019
This highlights the differences in this Batman as he faces an ethical dilemma while fighting Scarecrow. And surprisingly, Scarecrow has some physical skills.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews