{"id":32574,"date":"2025-04-07T15:34:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T15:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=32574"},"modified":"2025-04-07T15:34:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T15:34:51","slug":"batman-the-cult-deluxe-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/04\/07\/batman-the-cult-deluxe-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman: The Cult – Deluxe Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Jim Starlin<\/strong> & Bernie Wrightson<\/strong>, with Bill Wray<\/strong>, John Costanza<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-77952-827-8 (HB Deluxe\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once the runaway success of The Dark Night Returns<\/strong> proved that fans wanted tales with darker, edgier heroes and would stump up big bucks to get them, the floodgates opened for miniseries released on expensive Baxter paper in book-like formats. DC quickly complied, following up with this deceptively effective thriller by two of the industry\u2019s biggest fan-favourites: Jim Starlin and master of horror and suspense Bernie Wrightson, ably augmented by colour artist Bill Wray and lettered John Costanza.
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\nThe tale is a straightforward if apocalyptic action-adventure modern film fans will readily recognise, as so many visual elements and beats (if not villains) of the saga appeared in the Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy<\/strong>. Following trenchantly sardonic introduction \u2018Burn This Book\u2019<\/em> as written by Starlin for the 1990 collected edition, it begins with \u2018Ordeal\u2019<\/em> as the Batman, experiencing mind-bending hallucinations and irresistible cravings to commit bloody slaughter, slowly awakes to the realisation that he has lost track of how long he has been a has been a prisoner of the army of hoboes, gutter-trash and voluntarily missing citizens who have taken over Gotham City\u2019s worst streets. The legion of the lost are being led by a charismatic self-appointed priest named Deacon Blackfire<\/em>, with his holy word disseminated by extremely capable lieutenant Jake Baker<\/em> and cadre of fanatical faithful fronted by the revolting Ratface<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Moreover, this dark messiah claims to be an immortal savant who drove off of the indigenous Miagani people who populate the land now called Gotham City long before the White Men came\u2026<\/p>\n

Batman knows exactly what Deacon is doing: employing standard techniques developed by cult-leaders and spies to break down resistance. Pain, isolation, sense deprivation, drugs and starvation are all used to break down resistance and individuality: but the harried hero just can\u2019t stop his iron resolve crumbling under the assault. It is more than any man could bear…<\/p>\n

In flashbacks that heighten the aura of confusion, the story unfolds. With increasing severity and frequency the city\u2019s worst predators are found beaten or dead, as the worst areas of the metropolis suddenly became safer to live in. The good news soon took a dark turn as fewer thugs were worked over and dumped, and far more just went missing, with only bloodstains and silence to mark their passing. Batman had followed the clues into the sewers\u2026 and wasn\u2019t seen again.<\/p>\n

Crime levels are down all over: thieves, pimps and muggers are too scared to venture out. Commissioner Gordon knows it\u2019s too good to be true, as does Robin<\/strong> (reformed street kid Jason Todd<\/em>) but public opinion is hugely supportive of Deacon Blackfire\u2019s clean-up campaign\u2026<\/p>\n

… And deep underground, the Dark Knight is crumbling as the army of derelicts find they have a taste for blood and power. Already their definition of what constitutes valid targets has slipped\u2026
\n\"\"
\nIn \u2018Capture\u2019<\/em>, the broken Bat has become one of Blackfire\u2019s army, but still baulks at murder. On a tightly controlled sortie up into the city he abruptly rejects Baker\u2019s suggestions and Blackfire\u2019s instructions, instead escaping into the night, rambling and incoherent as he fights off the drugs and conditioning. When Blackfire moves to seize control of the entire city, assassinating police and almost all of the civic officials, Batman is retaken, but this time Robin follows him to the grim world of tunnels and terror. The dynamic duo soon make a break for freedom, but end up deeper underground and unearth horrifying proof of the depths of the Deacon\u2019s terrible madness… or is it magical malignancy?<\/p>\n

\u2018Escape\u2019<\/em> sees the hobo army run amok like zombies in the streets as Robin struggles to break the broken Batman out of the sewer citadel. Gordon discovers impossible evidence indicating Deacon\u2019s claims to immortality might not be spurious. Total anarchy has taken hold with citizens being casually murdered in their homes and when Gordon is gunned down the State Governor declares Martial Law and deploys a woefully under-prepared National Guard. With Batman mentally incapacitated and physically depleted, four million citizens flee the city just before the military units are systematically massacred and their top-of-the-line ordnance becomes Blackfire\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In response, the federal government simply pulls out, abandoning Gotham and what remains of its population to the cult\u2019s disciples…
\n\"\"
\nThe situation appears hopeless and Robin and Alfred<\/em> can only wait to see if Bruce Wayne<\/em> will ever become Batman again. After a harrowing re-examination of his history and purpose, a determined, angry and far Darker Knight emerges, with new tactics, harsher weapons and an unshakable hunger to destroy Blackfire and take back his city, as final chapter \u2018Combat\u2019<\/em> sees the fightback begin with the debut of the \u201cMonster Truck Batmobile\u201d and a sustained assault on the concrete hell beneath Gotham. However, even with the hard-fought battle won and Deacon seemingly dead and gone, inexplicable facts are still emerging…<\/p>\n

Added feature \u2018The Cult of Wrightson\u2019<\/em> closes the case with a stunning treat for art lovers; reprinting 25 pages of roughs, designs, page layouts, pencils and inked pages and even colour process guides, to unravel the creativity behind all that magic and illusion…
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\nBatman: the Cult<\/strong> is a grim and powerful thriller emphasising the psychological rather than physical or technical attributes of the most popular superhero in the world, but the saga is still packed with tension and suspense, peppered with spectacular action set-pieces and bolstered with outlandish gadgets. Fierce, frenzied and ferociously fun, this is a long-neglected slice of Batlore ripe and ready for your reappraisal.
\n\u00a9 1990, 2024 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jim Starlin & Bernie Wrightson, with Bill Wray, John Costanza & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-77952-827-8 (HB Deluxe\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Once the runaway success of The Dark Night Returns proved that fans wanted tales with darker, edgier heroes and would stump up big bucks to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Batman: The Cult – Deluxe Edition”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,75,76,66,105,172,325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-batman","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-horror-stories","category-mature-reading","category-robin","category-the-joker"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8to","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32582,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32574\/revisions\/32582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}