In this page, Batman is fighting off both the aftereffects of Scarecrow's fear toxin and sleep deprivation. He's been pushing himself hard.
Panel 1: Batman, 5 o'clock shadow visible, staggers into the Commissioner's office, which is empty.
Batman: COMMISSIONER, THE SCARECROW... TOXIN...
Inset panel: A piece of paper lies crumpled on the floor.
Batman: EH?
Panel 2: Batman sits in whatever chair is handy and reads the paper.
Batman: "...USED TO HAVE THE TRE-DEUCE AND THE DEUCE-DEUCE IN MY BUBBLEGOOSE..."
Batman: HUH, SOME CLUE.
Batman: 2 GUNS MENTIONED, BOTH WITH CALIBERS DIVISIBLE BY 2. TWO-FACE IS JUST GETTING TRANSPARENT HERE.
Panel 3: Batman is reading the paper, and is utterly convinced he's on to something.
Batman: BUT WAIT... 3+2+2+2=9! 9 LIVES! CATWOMAN'S CALLING CARD!
Batman: OR MAYBE THE MENTION OF THE GOOSEDOWN COAT WAS MEANT TO DRAW SUSPICION AWAY FROM THE PENGUIN, THAT CRIMINAL CAPER-CHEWER!
Inset Panel: Batman is confused.
Batman: HUH... WHAT CALIBER DOES THE VENTRILOQUIST USE AGAIN?
Transmitter(Oracle): BATMAN, WHERE ARE YOU? THE COMMISSIONER'S BEEN CALLING ME FOR THE PAST 5 MINUTES!
Panel 4: Batman, suspicious, holds 2 fingers to his right ear to activate the communicator.
Batman: BUT... HE WAS KIDNAPPED. HE WASN'T IN HIS OFFICE, AND I FOUND A VERY CONFUSING NOTE THAT COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO ANY NUMBER OF SUPERVILLAINS.
Transmitter(Oracle): LET ME SEE IT.
Panel 5: Batman, his eyepieces glowing green, holds the mysterious note in front of him.
Caption: EYEPIECE TRANSMISSION ACTIVE.
Panel 6: Oracle is exasperated.
Oracle: BATMAN, WHEN DID YOU LAST SLEEP?
Transmitter(Batman): ... IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE TAKEN ONE OF MY CRIME-SOLVING MICRO-NAPS. I MAY BE OFF MY GAME.
Oracle: YOU'RE CONFUSING SONG LYRICS FOR RANSOM NOTES. GO TO BED, I'LL SEE IF NIGHTWING CAN SUB IN.
Wonderfully surreal.
ReplyDeleteNice and trippy with a solid final panel to bring things home.
ReplyDelete