All the Colors of the Batman

Holy Small World! Acclaimed BATMAN artist Kelley Jones is not only a longtime VIDEO WATCHDOG subscriber, his name also appears on the List of Patrons inside MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK!

Kelley's latest Gotham City adventure is a seasonal one. "Batman Bloodlust" is one of thirteen new stories by various artists and writers featured in DC Comics' new omnibus INFINITE HALLOWEEN ($5.99), which streeted (appropriately) yesterday. Believe it or not, it's the story of how Robin became a vampire, and -- in a magnificent splash page whose impact is perfectly traumatic -- we see the young Dick Grayson traumatized as he bears witness to the Batman (a notorious king vampire) eating his parents.

We don't have the comic in hand yet, and neither does Kelley, but he was kind enough to send us this exclusive scan of his original, instant classic, black-and-white artwork for the page in question.

And why, you may ask, is it in question -- especially here, on the Bava book blog? Well... need I draw your attention to the poster so prominently placed on the wall of that alley?

I'm in a BATMAN comic. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

And how appropriate that the key image on that poster should come from BLACK SUNDAY [La maschera del demonio, 1960], the Bava film which so many people of my generation recall as a traumatizing matinee event?

Now for the pièce de resistance: all the colors of the Batman! Here's the same page in its full color respendence, just as we found it on the IGN.com preview page, where you can also find several other color pages by different artists, as well as Dan Phillips' IGN.com review of DC's INFINITE HALLOWEEN.

DC's INFINITE HALLOWEEN -- DON'T DARE MISS IT!