Batman: Anarky

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Batman: Anarky

Cover to Batman: Anarky. Art by Norm Breyfogle.
Publisher DC Comics
Date February 22, 1999
Creative team
Writer(s) Alan Grant
Artist(s) Norm Breyfogle,
Stewart Johnson,
John Paul Leon,
Joe Rubinstein,
Steve Mitchell,
Cam Smith
Original publication
Published in Detective Comics
The Batman Chronicles
Batman: Shadow of the Bat
Anarky
Date(s) of publication November-December 1989
July-August, 1995
May-August 1997
ISBN ISBN 1563894378

Batman: Anarky is a 1999 trade paperback collecting prominent appearances of Anarky, a comic book character created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, and originally published by DC Comics.

The majority of the collected stories are influenced by the philosophy of Anarchism, while the final story is influenced by Neo-Tech.

Although all of the collected stories were written by Alan Grant, various artists contributed to individual stories. Dual introductions were written by Anarky creators, Grant and Breyfogle.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

I'm amused by Alan's originally grooming Anarky to be the new Robin; the Robin role now seems too small for him!
Norm Breyfogle, Batman: Anarky introduction, 1998.

[edit] Anarky in Gotham City

During a late night drug raid, Batman discovers that the drug dealer he was tracking has already been assaulted and left for police to find. Next to his unconscious body is a spray painted circle-A, announcing the arrival of a new vigilante, Anarky. Anarky continues his war against crime by targeting a business owner dumping pollutants in a river. Batman recognizes his M.O. and realizes he is attacking people based on the complaints raised in letters to the editor in a local newspaper.[1] He alerts the police, who plan stake outs at several events based on the letters. When Anarky strikes next, however, it is at a construction site unlisted in the paper. Anarky rallies the homeless to riot in response to the destruction of their "Cardboard City", which has been bulldozed to build a new bank. Batman arrives and is attacked by the homeless so that Anarky may flee. Batman eventually catches Anarky, revealing him to be a disguised, 12-year-old paperboy named Lonnie Machin. As a child prodigy with extensive knowledge of both radical philosophy and improvised munitions, Lonnie was confident that violent change was necessary to improve social conditions. Batman condemns his actions, but expresses admiration for his idealism.[2]

[edit] Tomorrow Belongs to Us

While serving time in a juvenile correction facility, Lonnie Machin creates a makeshift hologram projector and two-way communicator, and uses it to leave the impression that he is still held in detention. He then escapes and sabotages a politician's ad campaign to promote anti-electoral propaganda. He uses the communicator during his adventure to carryout a political dialogue with his fellow detainees, narrowly returning before guards notice his absence.[3]

[edit] Anarky

Several months later, after being released from juvenile detention on parole, Lonnie Machin uses the internet to create a company, "Anarco", and sells anarchist literature online to acquire millions of dollars. He channels this wealth through a proxy organization, "The Anarkist Foundation", to donate the funds to political groups he supports, including gun protesters, eco-warriors, and clean energy lobbies. He also supports a self-proclaimed "prophet of doom," Malochia, who spreads a message that current social conditions are intolerable. Anarky comes to suspect that this "prophet" has an ulterior motive, and hires private detective, Joe Patato, to investigate his actions. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin have also placed Molochia under their watch, and discover his connections to Lonni Machin. Anarky, Joe Potato, and Batman confront Molochia, but are each captured and tied to a blimp.[4] The blimp is loaded with high explosives and set to detonate near the center of the city. Molochia hopes this act will set into effect his own delusional predictions of calamity. Anarky and Joe Potato revive and steer the blimp towards the water front, still set to explode. Anarky releases both Potato and Batman into the water, but is tangled in ropes and presumably caught in the explosion. During the story, Lonnie's parents find a letter he wrote in the event of his death. It explains his origin as Anarky and the personal reasons behind his decision to become a vigilante.[5]

[edit] Metamorphosis

See also: Anarky (comic book)

The story describes that Lonni Machin narrowly survived an explosion and used the confusion in its aftermath to fake his death. Several months later, he has begun a new plan to liberate the world of government. As Anarky, he attempts to create a device which will emit beams of light on frequencies which will trigger the human brain of all who see it. The people will then be "de-brainwashed" of all the social constraints which society has placed on the individual. Utilizing a makeshift teleportation device capable of summoning a boom tube[6], he begins a quest to capture the power sources the device will need: the madness of Etrigan[7], the evil of Darkseid[8], and the goodness of Batman[9]. During the confrontation between Anarky and Batman, the device is damaged. Thus, when Machin activates it, it only effects himself. The vision that follows reveals what may have happened if he had succeeded, with nightmarish consequences. The conclusion of the story is that if society is to change, individuals must accept that change voluntarily. When Batman turns off the machine, Anarky awakens and promptly escapes, vowing to continue his mission, "until they all learn to choose for themselves."[10]

[edit] Inspirations

In creating Anarky as a character, writer Alan Grant drew upon his own anarchist sympathies, but was further inspired by the protagonist of V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore, who is also an anarchist, and early incarnations of Chopper, of Judge Dredd comics. His instructions to his illustrator during his run on Detective Comics, Norm Breyfogle, were that Anarky should be physically based upon a mix of V and the Black Spy of Spy vs Spy.[11]

By 1997, Alan Grant had changed his philosophy to that of Neo-Tech, an offshoot of Objectivism. Grant then redesigned Anarky accordingly, and used the philosophy as the basis for the Anarky miniseries, which comprises the last part of the trade paperback.[12]

[edit] Publication

Each of the four main stories contained within the trade paperback were originally published within various comic books associated with the Batman franchise. The last of these four, Anarky: Metamorphosis, were created as a spin-off mini-series. With the continuation of the series as an ongoing monthly in 1999, these four issues became the first volume of the Anarky series by default. All of the collected stories were written by Alan Grant, however, contributing pencillers to different stories include Norm Breyfogle, Stewart Johnson, John Paul Leon, Joe Rubinstein, Steve Mitchell, Cam Smith, while various other talants performed roles as inkers, colorists, letterers, and editors. Alan Grant contributed an introduction in which he explains the philosophies which inspired the character's creation, and the rationales behind the development of the character. Anarky co-creator and series illustrator, Norm Breyfogle, provided his own introductory essay in which he notes his history and friendship with Alan Grant, his contributions to the creation of Anarky, and expresses admiration for the character's ideals.[13]

[edit] Collected issues

The issues collected in the trade paperback are:

  • Detective Comics #608 (November 1989): Anarky in Gotham City, Part One: Letters to the Editor
  • Detective Comics #609 (December 1989): Anarky in Gotham City, Part Two: Facts About Bats
  • The Batman Chronicles #1 (Summer 1995): Tomorrow Belongs to Us
  • Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40 (July 1995): Anarky, Part One: Prophet of Doom
  • Batman: Shadow of the Bat #41 (August 1995): Anarky, Part Two: The Anarkist Manifesto
  • Anarky (vol.1) #1 (May 1997): Metamorphosis, Part One: Does a Dog Have a Buddha Nature?
  • Anarky (vol.1) #2 (June 1997): Metamorphosis, Part Two: Revolution Number 9
  • Anarky (vol.1) #3 (July 1997): Metamorphosis, Part Three: The Economics of the Madhouse
  • Anarky (vol.1) #4 (August 1997): Metamorphosis, Part Four: Fanfare for the Common Man

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Detective Comics #608 (November 1989): Anarky in Gotham City, Part One: Letters to the Editor
  2. ^ Detective Comics #609 (December 1989): Anarky in Gotham City, Part Two: Facts About Bats
  3. ^ The Batman Chronicles #1 (Summer 1995): Tomorrow Belongs to Us
  4. ^ Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40 (July 1995): Anarky, Part One: Prophet of Doom
  5. ^ Batman: Shadow of the Bat #41 (August 1995): Anarky, Part Two: The Anarkist Manifesto
  6. ^ The device is vaguely referred to as a "teleportation device" or inaccurately as a "boom tube" at different times during the two volumes of the series. The term "boom tube" is inaccurate as it refers to the portal opened by such devices, not the devices themselves. Further, the device is never described as being akin to a Mother Box, another device in the DC universe capable of generating a boom tube.
  7. ^ Anarky (vol.1) #1 (May 1997): Metamorphosis, Part One: Does a Dog Have a Buddha Nature?
  8. ^ Anarky (vol.1) #2 (June 1997): Metamorphosis, Part Two: Revolution Number 9
  9. ^ Anarky (vol.1) #3 (July 1997): Metamorphosis, Part Three: The Economics of the Madhouse
  10. ^ Anarky (vol.1) #4 (August 1997): Metamorphosis, Part Four: Fanfare for the Common Man
  11. ^ Batman: Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle Speak Out, by Daniel Best. (2006) Ohdannyboy.blogspot.com Accessed February 10, 2007.
  12. ^ Holy Penis Collapsor Batman! DC Publishes The First Zonpower Comic Book!?!?!. gocomics.com. Accessed February 18, 1998
  13. ^ Batman: Anarky, published 1999-2-22. (Titan ISBN 1-85286-995-X, DC ISBN 1-56389-437-8)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

  • Anarky on the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe website.
  • Anarky on NormBreyfogle.com, official website of Norm Breyfogle, Anarky co-creator and series illustrator. Also includes the Anarky Trade Paperback Intro, Anarky Farewell, a short essay regarding the series cancellation, and galleries of completed pencil illustrations to multiple issues, including two unpublished issues of Anarky.