Beer & Batman #29: An Adequate Adieu

This is Beer & Batman, a weekly feature here at Gutterball Special, in which I pair craft beer with a Batman story, working my way through the Batman canon in a loosely chronological manner (albeit disregarding most retcons and reboots, and indulging the occasional out-of-continuity detour). If you’re just joining now, be sure to check out my previous Beer & Batman pairings here.

Every craft brewer owes some intangible debt to Ken Grossman and his Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. A homebrewer throughout the 1970s, Grossman recognized an absence of homegrown, hop-forward beers, and took it upon himself to brew them. He was such a pioneer that he couldn’t even acquire the equipment required to brew beer at his planned small scale – brewing systems were only built to suit large commercial breweries, and he had to cobble together his own brewery from repurposed dairy equipment. Sierra Nevada practically invented the craft beer movement in the United States, and to this day, their pale ale is trumpeted as the standard against which all other pale ales are held.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, CA. 5.6% ABV.

Batman: A Death In The Family, written by Jim Starlin, pencils by Jim Aparo, inks by Mike Decarlo, and colours by Adrienne Roy, with letters by John Costanza.

With all that historical context established now, I will proceed to state an unpopular opinion: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, though undeniably well-balanced, is a timid, if not outright unremarkable, pale ale. As a homebrewer like Ken Grossman myself, I want to heap praise upon Sierra Nevada, because I have the privilege of walking every trail which Grossman has blazed. Objectively, though, I have to admit that I find their pale ale dreadfully uninteresting. It boils down to that perennial tug-of-war between importance and actual merit, and that is why I have paired Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with Batman: A Death In The Family.

Beer & Batman #26: Holy Smoke, Batman!

This is Beer & Batman, a weekly feature here at Gutterball Special, in which I pair craft beer with a Batman story, working my way through the Batman canon in a loosely chronological manner (albeit disregarding most retcons and reboots, and indulging the occasional out-of-continuity detour). If you’re just joining now, be sure to check out my previous Beer & Batman pairings here.

It feels like a long while since the last Beer & Batman. Between April’s Joker-ized and gin-soaked detour, the unfortunate but unavoidable delays caused by moving, and some initial internet connectivity issues here at the new Gutterball Special headquarters, the last time I paired a beer with the Dark Knight’s ongoing exploits was March 28. Entitled “That Meddling Kid,” that post discussed the introduction of a new Boy Wonder to the Batcave: Jason Todd, a parentless boy whom Batman caught stealing the wheels off the Batmobile. Prior to that, I discussed a sequence of stories which resolved in the dissolution of the original Dynamic Duo. Due to plot contrivance and some heavy-handed attempts to emulate Frank Miller, Batman was written as increasingly moody and withdrawn over the course of these stories (though, if you’re looking for an in-story explanation as to Bruce’s newly dour outlook, Son of the Demon does provide a convincing explanation). I mention these points not just because a recap seems necessary, but because Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson’s The Cult actually does something interesting with the darker corners of Batman’s mind that, up until now, have only served as a single-note reminder that he is a Serious Character™ who should be taken seriously.

I am delighted to have reached The Cult, and not just because it’s a book that offers a lot to talk about. No – I am excited because I have the perfect beer to pair with it. I’ve had this pairing queued up since this blog was a mere twinkle in my eye. Holy Smoke, from the fine folks at Church-Key Brewing Company in Campbellford, is a peat smoked scotch ale, and like it’s comic-book counterpart, it is dark, strong, and a little spooky. The bottle explains that it is a Celtic style ale – “An homage to our brewmaster’s Graham Clan ancestry.” Though the knots and symbols adorning the label hail from an entirely different culture than the totems employed by The Cult’s Deacon Blackfire, both evoke something ancient, mythic and mysterious. Simply put: though the name might call it “holy,” this is one hell of a beer.

Beer & Batman #25: That Meddling Kid

This is Beer & Batman, a weekly feature here at Gutterball Special, in which I pair craft beer with a Batman story, working my way through the Batman canon in a loosely chronological manner (albeit disregarding most retcons and reboots, and indulging the occasional out-of-continuity detour). If you’re just joining now, be sure to check out my previous Beer & Batman pairings here.

A brief history lesson, for context:

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s seminal classic Batman: Year One, which redefined and updated Batman’s origin story, was published in single issues over Batman #404 to #407, in 1987. Grayson, you might recall, abdicated the role of Robin in 1983, after which Batman got an assist from a brand new Boy Wonder, named Jason Todd. Prior to Year One, and the Crisis on Infinite Earths event which precipitated it, ginger-haired Jay Todd’s background was nearly identical to Dick Grayson’s: he was an orphaned circus acrobat, whose parents were murdered by circus freak show act Killer Croc. When modern continuity resumed after Year One, however, it was determined that Jason Todd’s origin, like Batman’s own, should be revisited. Thus, Batman #408 featured a brand new introduction to the second Boy Wonder.

That issue is the third issue featured in the collection, Batman: Second Chances. The first two are Batman #402 and #403, the last issues of the title before Year One changed everything, which serves well to draw attention to the puzzling aspects of Second Chances as a whole. See, those first two issues are written by a skilled writer named Max Allan Collins, who today is probably best known as the writer of the Road to Perdition graphic novels, the first of which was adapted by Sam Mendes into an incredible film starring Tom Hanks. This Batman story, a straightforward two issue arc that has Batman and Robin tracking down an ex-cop who has delusions of being Batman himself, doesn’t really warrant comparison to Collins’ noir-ish graphic novels, but it’s nevertheless well-crafted, a worthy successor to the Dennis O’Neill and Neal Adams-era. Puzzlingly, however, Collins returns to write the title with #408, writing in very much the same style as his previous arc, evidently unfazed by the Miller/Mazzucchelli issues in between.