Batman: The Cult

See what happens when you keep a positive attitude? Check out what I found at my neighborhood comic shop:

Four issues. Prestige format. First printings.

Batman: The Cult was written by Jim Starlin. Jim Starlin wrote the Batman storyline A Death In The Family in the late 1980's, which to this day is one of my most cherished comic book memories as a little nerd. I've never read this mini and I'm not sure how rare finding first printing single issues is, but that isn't the larger point. The point is I'm excited to take a trip back to my personal comics golden age, the 1980's. These moments are few and far between so you have to cherish them.

From Wikipedia:

The story follows the machinations of Deacon Blackfire and his band of homeless followers who have kidnapped Batman before the events of this story. Following a lengthy period of captivity Batman slowly succumbs to brainwashing. This eventually leads to him committing a murder in what proved to be controversial events among fans of the range. Under instructions from Blackfire, Batman opens fire with a machine-gun upon a man he believes to be Two-Face but ultimately turns out not to be. Batman is eventually freed from the cult but takes a long time to recover from his treatment at their hands. The story also delves into other territory. Gotham City politicians are assassinated by Blackfire's party of followers. An attempt on Commissioner Gordon's life is tried by Blackfire's group, leaving the commissioner in a hospital. Beyond Gotham authorities to protect the city, the National Guard is called in, then the Military and Martial Law is declared on Gotham. The series also features the second Robin, Jason Todd.

Given the nature of the story and Batman's apparent murder of an innocent civilian this story proved to be controversial among fans of the range. There were other graphic depictions in this series: the scarred face of a hooker victim leaves Batman in shock, while the comic panel clearly shows the reader what her scarred face looks like. Also the decapitated head of a Gotham City politician is tossed out of a sewer hole onto the street. The main villain Deacon Blackfire is seen bathing in a pit of blood from the dead corpses he has hanging above him.^[2] Due to the prestige format, DC was able to surpass the Comics Code Authority.

IGN Comics ranked Batman: The Cult #6 on a list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels, saying that "the story is told with callous brutality that makes it all the more powerful."^[1]

P.S. This is why I love Secret Headquarters. If you live in the neighborhood of Los Feliz / Silver Lake / Echo Park make this your go to place.

- TFM