My Rating
“The Millionaire Contract”
As Batman lays in recovery from a blood transfusion and Father Green’s vampire serum, the Boy Wonder helps load the bodies of Dala Vadim and the Monk into the back of a hearse. Their next destination is the holding cells underneath St. Jude’s Hospital. Robin and Alfred bid Father Green farewell and return to the surface level at Wayne Manor. The threat of vampire infestation seems to have ended for now.
Upstairs Dick Grayson’s jaw drops as Alfred Pennyworth greets some late night guests. Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne are busy in a playful conversation. What?! But Dick had just left Batman in the Batcave infirmary. Alfred gives the boy a subtle wink. Dick has no idea what the ruse is, but he plays along.
Gotham City – backstreets, Jason Bard and his new partner James Gordon are walking toward an old brownstone building. They received a tip from the slimey paparazzi named Squeeze earlier that evening. Will they find out who ordered the photographs of Bruce Wayne? Is it tied to the recent mayoral election fraud? Before the two men can get to the front entrance three Gotham beat cops approach. The ex-commissioner recognizes the officers from a police internal affairs investigation.
Will Batman recover in time to stop Deadshot from carrying out a assassination attempt on Bruce Wayne? Can Dick Grayson repair his damaged relationship with Vicki Vale? Is the Human Target, Christopher Chance, read to play his biggest performance yet?
“He With Secrets Fears The Sounds”
Ward Gilbert, founder and CEO of the computer firm Gilcom, looks up from his prone position on the sidewalk. Three thugs stand over him in glee. One steps aside as Gotham’s newest tech villain approaches the old man and his briefcase. Ward’s eyes widen as he recognizes the costume of the Velvet Tiger. He knows this woman well.
Across the street at the Humanities Research and Development building, Barbara Gordon has just finished writing a grant proposal for a new children’s daycare program. The long hours of debating phone calls and rewrites have taken its toll on her. Time for a drink and a hot bath. As Barbara exits the office building the sounds of panic yelling catches her ear. Someone is in trouble down the street!
One of Velvet Tiger’s henchmen draws a Saturday Night Special and points it towards the CEO of Gilcom and prepares to pull the trigger. Velvet Tiger has snatched the briefcase filled with technical evidence pointing to her corporate hacking scheme. She orders the gunman to shoot. Ward is stunned by this decision as the Velvet Tiger is in fact his sister Lani Gilbert!
Who created the “Infinity transmitter” technology which was used to hack Gotham City’s tech companies? Will Batgirl save Ward from his family squabble? Which research lab is responsible for illegal human experimentation? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
Well, the conclusion of the “Monk” vampire story arc was a little anticlimactic. Apparently in the DC Universe vampires can be cured by a complete blood transfusion and a secret serum injection. Father Green has the technology; he can rebuild them.
What’s scarier is the fact there is a vampire holding facility somewhere within the walls of St. Jude’s Hospital. I’m wondering if this is the precursor to the federal government run R-Complex program. Is there a Batman fanatic out there that can speak on this? It would be an interesting topic.
Overall we get the ending of two Batman stories and the start of a new Batgirl adventure. Batman and the Human Target take on Deadshot to save Bruce Wayne from an extortion plot. Batgirl stumbles on a new type of computer crime. All worth the read in my opinion. Detective Comics No. 518 gets a four star rating from me.
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