Written by Max Allan Collins.
Art by Eduardo Barreto & Todd Klein.
Cover Art by Eduardo Barreto.
SUMMARY:
DC Comics released this 48-page Elseworlds: Batman one-shot in 1996. In presumably mid-1957, the last days of a middle-aged Eliot Ness are fictionalized. Collaborating with journalist Oscar Fraley on the posthumous memoir later titled The Untouchables, a boozing Ness relates a secret side story.
Dating back to Prohibition-era 1928, federal investigator (and Ness’ own brother-in-law), Alexander Jamie, convinces a 25-year-old Ness to join his federal task force going after Chicago crime boss Al “Scarface” Capone – or “Snorky,” as Capone’s associates call him.
Recruiting three trusted operatives: George Koken, Frank Basile, and young war veteran Danny Rasher (who coincidentally resembles Bruce Wayne), Ness leads an undercover sting to infiltrate Capone’s network of clandestine stills. Predating the similarly-looking DC comic book icon by a decade, a mysterious ‘Bat-Man,’ primarily armed with a baseball bat and a machine gun, simultaneously haunts Capone’s ruthless underlings after nightfall.
With Bat-Man’s vigilante heat jeopardizing federal efforts to neutralize Capone, a pressured Jamie orders Ness to help hunt down their rival predator. After an infuriated Capone’s goon squad targets Ness and his men, the ‘Bat-Man’ seeks retribution.
Note: Given his expertise on the subject, crime novelist Collins is likely the literary world’s best source for historical fiction depicting Eliot Ness.
REVIEW:
Including its well-played climatic twist, novelist Max Allan Collins generates instant credibility depicting one of the best alternate-reality Batmen produced. Equally supported by artist Eduardo Barreto, Collins deftly intermingles reality and fact-based historical fiction into a thrill ride re-imagining the Dark Knight. For adult Bat-fans, as well as afficionados of The Untouchables, the gritty Batman: Scar of the Bat merits re-discovery.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
The last page is the author’s insightful afterword.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
