InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I give you dancing flower."

runespoor7 (runespoor7) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-05-20 18:48:00

Entry tags:

char: batman/bruce wayne, char: robin/red hood/jason todd, creator: dave cockrum, creator: max collins, publisher: dc comics, title: batman

Batman #412: Enemy Mime
cat_13145 wanted to see Batman #412, which features Jason grinning, rock, a mime, and the obligatory bad puns.

It's the last time Collins wrote Jason on Batman, and I was going to focus again on Jason's characterization, but I'm a sucker for how the design of the mime. The art, which is by Cockrum, has a very clean, dynamic look, so I ended up doing a lot more 'general story' than a Jason post.

They discover that the clapper has been stolen. Jason finds the theft hilarious, but Bruce is not amused: “Anybody who would steal from a church...”

The following night, a mime makes her show in the middle of traffic. The car drivers aren't pleased, but many passerbies give her money and cheer her; she's apparently very good. One driver gets a little angrier than the rest, so she takes a gun from her bag and Just Shoots Him.

The screams of the on-lookers attract Batman and Robin's attention; Batman leaves Robin to take care of the man who got shot and runs after the mime.

The next day, Bruce, who thought he recognized the mime, investigates by getting info from Vicki Vale under the pretense of flirting. Which she's smart enough to notice: “Oh, and Bruce? Next time you drop in to check up on a woman-- make sure it's me!” (Not as long as you're working the angle “Batman: Gotham Menace”, Vicki, I'm afraid.)

Anyway, Bruce gets the story on the mime, Camilla; she was a kid from a wealthy family whose father did business in fireworks. She invested all her money in a mime troupe, which, though it toured widely and was well-received by critics, was a financial disaster. The troupe could only make do thanks to the government's financial aid, and when the political climate changed and grants were cut, Camilla had to disband her troupe.

Camilla chooses particularly noisy places to make her show, and there's a rock concert slated at the civic center that night, so that's the obvious place where she'll be next.

Indeed, she shocks/electrocutes the band and starts her act:

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icon_uk
2009-05-20 12:09 pm UTC (link)

Heh, sadly both Batman and Robin look like they're standing on the roof to have a quick pee over the edge... look out pigeons!

I love the Mime, it's a shame she never got her second appearance, where she was going to be the target of the affections of... the JOKER! :) (This was way before Harley of course). What would have been a comic story became a text story instead and has the wonderful moment where Mime (driven to distraction by the Joker's constant yak-yak-yak) finally snaps and slaps him in the face.

As she stalks off the Joker looks like someone who's had a major revelation and notes "Oh COURSE!!! THAT'S the sound of one hand clapping!"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	sherkahn 2009-05-20 12:13 pm UTC (link)
	Heh, sadly both Batman and Robin look like they're standing on the roof to have a quick pee over the edge... look out pigeons! that is so spot on.... and so wrong. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sistermagpie 2009-05-20 12:48 pm UTC (link)
	Good lord. They totally do look like they're having a quick pee over the edge. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mysteryfan 2009-05-20 03:38 pm UTC (link)
	And like it's just part of patrol. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	autumn_lily 2009-05-21 10:50 pm UTC (link)
	Well that explains why everybody in Gotham is always dressed in overcoats and hates like it's the middle of the winter in July - Gotham has scattered golden showers. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	autumn_lily 2009-05-21 10:51 pm UTC (link)
	HATS, HATS! I need to get some sleep. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	halloweenjack 2009-05-20 12:26 pm UTC (link)
	I remember this villain from the Kevin Nowlan cover mostly, although the Woobie panel from the second-to-last page is also great. Plus, there really really needs to be a band called Blister Twister. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-05-20 12:30 pm UTC (link)
	I know, I love how Batman is all "no not twice". She could give Shrek's Puss in Boots lessons. Plus, there really really needs to be a band called Blister Twister. It's one of the great disappointments in life. Plus they're singing covers of Simon and Garfunkel. Do. Want. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	darklorelei 2009-05-20 12:48 pm UTC (link)
	I love the second to last panel! (Reply to this)

ex_stig213
2009-05-20 03:23 pm UTC (link)

When I write for DC, I swear that Camilla Cameo will be part of a buddy series with Cass Cain. I'd have to change her name to 'Cameo' to make her more distinct from other evil Mime characters, though. Okay...

TITLE: Batgirl: Solace (Or Whatever Identity Cass Has At The Time, Unless It's Out-Of-Continuity, Which I'd Prefer)

PLOT: Cass Cain, in civil garb, has frequently visited Camilla Cameo, ala Batman visiting the Joker in "The Killing Joke", but with less tension. Having been given relative peace in Arkham (you'd be surprised how quiet an insane asylum can be), she's much calmer, and Batgirl's 'interviews' are more a sort of get-together. Cass identifies with her parenting issues and her taciturn demeanour.

Then: generic Arkham break-out during one of their conversations. The escaping inmates ask Cameo for her help, which she refuses, not wanting to get in trouble; Cass fends them off. A guard then attacks, using a high-frequency sound cannon that (quite accidentally) induces temporary deafness.

Here then is the ultimate in Odd Couple team-ups; one girl can hear, but doesn't speak. The other can't hear, and does try to speak. Both of them are trying to put their sordid past behind them while on a road trip across America to prevent each from losing another friend to maddened, vengeful supervillains.

That's all I've got, along with the mental image of Cass fighting generic super-stooges in a shopping mall, using a katana and wearing a Batgirl t-shirt and black scarf as a makeshift costume.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-05-20 03:43 pm UTC (link)
	That'd make a cool mini-series, at the least. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	mysteryfan 2009-05-20 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	That mime needs some of those boots from Lady!Cop. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-05-21 12:14 am UTC (link)
	Nah - wouldn't go with the rest of her ensemble. A Western-style mime would just be too weird. (Reply to this) (Parent)

psychop_rex
2009-05-21 12:26 am UTC (link)

The Mime is an interesting character, because she just looks so VULNERABLE. I mean, there are a number of Batman villains who are fairly likable on some levels - Harley being an obvious example - but this is probably the only one who actually makes me want to give her a reassuring hug and make hot chocolate for. And yet despite this vulnerability - which I'm sure is real on some level - she's perfectly capable of shooting you or electrocuting you. It's an interesting mixture, and it's a shame that she's only been used once - if nothing else, silence-based crimes could make for an interesting gimmick.

(Reply to this)

	Thank you and sorry cat_13145 2009-08-24 07:42 am UTC (link)
	Sorry for not commenting on this sooner, I've had a hetic couple of months and just missed it. Either way, excellent story. WHat is it about all three Robins and Rock? (insert bad jokes) (Reply to this)