The Daily Comic Book Coffee, number 20: The work of Bronze Age legend Jim Aparo is showcased in today’s entry. “Scars” is drawn by Aparo, written by Gerry Conway, colored by Adrienne Roy, and edited by Allen Milgrom, from The Batman Family #17, published by DC Comics with an April-May 1978 cover date.
Jim Aparo is considered by many to be one of the all-time great Batman artists. So it was entirely appropriate for Aparo to draw this first meeting between the Batman of Earth-One and the Huntress, who is the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-Two. Helena Wayne has crossed the dimensional barrier to meet this counterpart Dark Knight. Over coffee with Batman and Robin she explains that she is seeking advice on pursuing a career as a costumed crimefighter. She does not feel she can confide in her father, so she has come to the Bruce Wayne of Earth-One, who is literally the next best thing.
This story and the second one in this issue, a team-up of Batgirl and the Huntress against Poison Ivy and Catwoman written by Bob Rozakis and drawn by Don Heck, make use of the idea that it really would be weird and unnerving to find out there was a parallel world that was almost the same as yours. Imagine meeting the counterparts of your loved ones, identical in some respects, yet very different in others. Conway and Rozakis both do a good job with the concept. That’s especially the case when Helena, the memories of her mother’s recent tragic death still fresh, encounters the Catwoman of Earth-One.
Aparo was a very talented artist, and this page showcases his diversity of skill. The top third is a dramatic image of the Huntress with the rest of the Justice Society charging into action. The rest of the page has Helena conversing with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, a good demonstration of Aparo’s sequential storytelling, as well as his ability to depict the human, vulnerable sides of these colorful costumed figures.
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