a grin like granite

Series: Batman (Elseworlds)
Titles: Red Rain, Bloodstorm, and Crimson Mist
Release Years: 1991 - 1999
Author: Doug Moench
Artists: Kelley Jones, Malcolm Jones III, John Beatty, Les Dorscheid, Todd Klein, Gregory Wright
ISBN: red rain #1-56389-036-4, bloodstorm #1-56389-185-9, crimson mist # 1-56389-495-5


      


I’m not a huge vampire fan - in fact, beyond a few of the classics, I usually avoid them. Even to my standards, though, the Red Rain trilogy is superb.

The series brings together Batman and Dracula in an alternative Gotham, where the rain is red and the landscape a subtle mix of 90s grunge and old world Gothic.

While at first glance it may sound like a concept that has all the makings of a terrible fanfiction or hokey Scooby Doo special, the reality is anything but.

Doug Moench’s story telling is brilliant. His prose are vivid and lush, hearkening back to Stoker’s own heavy language, but with a modern edge that leaves it accessible. His pacing is mind blowing.

The art is equally vivid, the designs as clever in their imagery as the writing is, and the coloring creates an atmosphere that manages to be both wonderfully rich and starkly dismal.

There are three parts to the saga - Red Rain is the first and follows Bruce Wayne as he comes to terms with the nightmare being unleashed on his city and as he takes on the task of going against Dracula himself in order to stop it.

The next two are Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist, respectively, and deal with the aftermath of Batman’s change, his struggles, and finally his complete and total devolution.

If ever there was a work that highlights just how dangerous Batman truly is, how important his dogmas are to keeping order, and of just how little actually separates Batman himself from the dark that he fights, it’s this.

The theme is delightfully frightening by itself, but with the added element of the vampire, here depicted as truly monstrous, it’s a fun and interesting read.



Although each part is contained to its own volume, with their own plots, the true brilliance is the way they work as a set.

There’s a build up that hits you right in the gut, a suspense and unveiling of terror that’s so well laid you feel it as you go, starting in Red Rain, hitting the pinnacle in Bloodstorm, and crashing down onto you in full with Crimson Mist, where the horror is no longer disguised and every page is as equally gruesome and disturbing as the last.

Slowly and surely, they chip away at Gotham and the Bat, until finally there’s nothing left but the nightmare.

Only then, in his darkest hour, do we truly get a glimpse at the strength of Batman’s character and at just who he is beneath the cowl, the blood-lust, and the fangs.

In themes woven throughout, the trilogy also takes a blatant look at some of the Bat's most defining relationships, including the one he has with Gotham herself, and capitalizes on its genre to explore the question of ethics vs justice with visceral frankness.

If you’re ever looking for an enjoyable horror read or vampire piece - hell, if you’re ever just looking for a damn good time - try the Red Rain trilogy.

You won’t regret it.


A final note of praise:
minor, non-plot related spoiler below

( elements of style )

by: disappearingcheshire
fandom: dcu, batman
characters: damian wayne/colin wilkes
rating: general
summary: based on this

Of all the crimes against style, decency, and health code regulation committed by the run-down safe house, the air mattress was undoubtedly the worst.

( he loathed this place )

trope bingo
→ mind control


by: disappearingcheshire
fandom: dcu, batman, batman beyond
characters: the joker + tim drake, jason todd, bruce wayne
warnings: references to past torture, minor violence

Wherein Tim Drake remains on as Robin after the Joker tortures him and discovers his lines blurred in the fallout.

( sometimes, his laughter catches in his throat )