Something Spooky — ‘Batman: The Black Mirror’ Deals In The Horror Of Humanity

What was that sound?

Like a fluttering of wings, or perhaps a cape, as things go bump in the night.

It’s the time of year where spooks and scares are sought out as much as the colorful sugary treats. Know something else that has spookiness but lots of garishly colorful costumes to delight the senses? Why that would be Gotham City of course, home of the Batman and his massive rogue’s gallery that brings the terror, horror, and more on the regular.

Yes, Batman stories and horror go hand in hand.

I know, shocking right. The man dressed as a giant bat that swoops out of shadows to prey upon the superstitions and fears of criminals surely doesn’t scream horror. Whoever could have guessed it would be like peanut butter and jelly? (End sarcasm here…probably).

So as part of our seasonal Something Spooky series, our suggestions of horror comics to add to your list leading up to Halloween, it seems only appropriate that the gothic caped crusader have a prominent spot. There are so many stories to choose from (Tony Thornley & I looked at the classics Batman: Gothic and Batman & Dracula: Red Rain previously), but I went with something relatively newer (if over a decade is new) with Batman: The Black Mirror.

Unlike other entries (including the classics linked above) that go with monsters and supernatural things, this collection of stories find the horror in a more tangible and realistically horrifying way.

Originally running through Detective Comics #871-881, the story is one of the more acclaimed modern runs and served both as the final Dick Grayson Batman story but also the final Batman story before the universe rebooting New 52 era. In a way, it served as an audition for writer Scott Snyder, who took over the main Batman series with the New 52 reboot.

While the whole storyline and collection is called “Black Mirror,” the arc is made up of a collection of smaller, some 3-part and some one-off, stories that share a connective horror fiber. Snyder is joined by alternating artists in the form of Batman-stalwart Jock and horror artist extraordinaire Francesco Francavilla. They are joined by colorist David Baron and letterers Jared K. Fletcher and Sal Cipriano.

Living up to the series name, these little slices of horror are also solid actual detective style stories. Letting Grayson- and Gordon- solve things that have a more horrific bent to them. As noted, the horror is derived not from supernatural beings or spirits, but the depravity that human beings deliver on a regular basis in fiction and reality.

It’s a moody eerie little tale about true evil and rich people who love to purchase and use items from villains, in order to revel in the evil and misery that comes from it.

There’s something far more personal as Commissioner James Gordon’s son James Gordon Jr. returns, his serial killer ways bringing misery for his father and his sister Barbara. Simultaneously Gordon closes out a cold case centering on a man who abducted and murdered children, who also drops hard facts about James Jr.

The corpse of a killer whale with another corpse within ends up within the vault of a bank owned by someone with a personal connection to the death of Grayson’s parents.

Nothing horrific in Gotham City isn’t complete without an appearance from the most appallingly horrible being to ever call the city home, a certain clown prince of crime.

There is a reason that Snyder has been able to carve out a whole section of Bat stories within his large stable of works. Here we see that on display as these seemingly disconnected stories standalone but come together like fine notes in a well-orchestrated piece. Eyes are turned to the horror of humanity and what depths can come. Along with the way that people can fluctuate between the two sides of that proverbial line between the light and the dark.

What seems like a potential aside with James Jr. becomes the fabric through which everything is born here. Horror incarnate, born from of one of the generally better men that Gotham has ever known, weaving its way in the most sinister ways.

Visually it just sings, both artists the best at what they do, bringing the down on the streets crime story and twisted rough horror vibes in spades. Shadows are strong everywhere, really hitting home what we’re supposed to feel in this moment. Things are bright and colorful, but in a very ominous and threatening way. There is no fantastical hope or superhero boosting to be found here.

Batman stories are about the undersides of life, and how one man (or multiple people in most cases) tries to fight back through that darkness, hoping to bring even a sliver of light. Oppressive darkness weighs heavily on the characters, the city, and the reader in these moments.

There are a lot of Batman stories. There are a lot of horror stories. If there is one Batman horror story you read this spooky season, this is the one to choose.

Just make sure…be careful about what goes bump in the night.

It might just be a face far too familiar.